We’re defined by our values and by how we treat the weakest among us.  Millions of unborn children are killed worldwide every year, and we wonder why we see violence around every corner.  We entertain ourselves by watching people kill each other on TV and in movies and become desensitized to violent death.  Our nonchalance over killing our fellow man has allowed organizations like Planned Parenthood to flourish.  We buy into the argument that a woman has the right to choose to have her child killed.  We even help pay for it by sending hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to the abortion mills that kill them.

We’ve been convinced that our actions don’t come with consequences and that instant gratification is the easy way out.  In today’s world, many new lives are seen as simple inconveniences;  problems that can be “taken care of” at your local Planned Parenthood clinic.  As human beings we are hard-wired to protect one another.  We see someone in danger and we rush to help them.  In times of disaster we don’t stop and ask ourselves what religion, race, or gender the victims are; we just know we have to help them.  Call it social engineering, a dumbed-down education system, or just plain brainwashing; whatever you call it, all the above are tugging at the fabric of our humanity.  We blindly join in protests against perceived acts of injustice that most of us know little or nothing about, and choose to do nothing as thousands of our children are killed daily.

For far too many of us values are something you find at the local market, not a standard of conduct and ethical behavior we choose to live by.  As our values deteriorate so does the quality of our lives.  We make conscious choices to ignore universally respected principles of human behavior and act surprised when we see the results of our choices.  We riot and burn down a town when an aggressive felon is killed while committing a crime, and bask in the afterglow of our injustice as athletes and celebrities cluelessly acknowledge our actions.  We feel good, thinking we have taken action for a just cause, totally unaware of our abject ignorance.

Our President unilaterally decides to normalize relations with a communist dictatorship and everyone in his camp thinks he’s done a good thing.  They ignore the fact that this dictatorship murdered every property owner in the country when they assumed power and confiscated all property.  They ignore the fact that the ruling regime still resorts to torture and imprisonment for anyone defying their authority.  Our country’s leader is willing to ignore our founding values for nothing more than a photo op and a pat on the back.  His attitude is indicative of a large number of his constituents.  Values have been set aside in exchange for votes, money, and virtually everything else of no real value.

As this year comes to an end, we all have an opportunity to reassess our values.  We have a chance to look within and to see what’s really important.  Our gift of free will is a heavy responsibility and must be seen for what it is; a choice to do good works or bad, and to realize the fruits of our choices.  When we take this responsibility lightly we end up with inept leaders and a country that kills its unborn children by the millions. Our values are inviolable and can’t be tweaked to accommodate societal whims.  We compromise our values at our own peril and we display our values with every action we take.