Tom Chisholm: Losing Moral Grounding

Now approaching my 70s, I find myself in a place that deeply disturbs me. As a child of the 1950s and 1960s, I grew up when our great country was just beginning to heal from a devastating world war. Tens of thousands of men and women went off to fight to preserve our rights not just as Americans, but as human beings. Had we not, that war would have sent the world down a terrible path. Luckily, the human race stood together against a tyranny that needed to be defeated. There was no question. We just knew we had to step up or face losing everything we believe in — the very fabric on which this great country was founded. If you know your history, we faced oppression then, too. We learned long ago that freedom isn't free. It comes at great cost. It disrupts our lives and stops progress toward the good.

Those ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it. This country is no doubt heading down that path today. Too many of us became complacent in our existence. We allowed those values I, and many of you, I suspect, were brought up on to fade. When I was in school, teachers had the right to discipline us. Our gym teachers had a wooden paddle with holes drilled in it that they used to keep us in line, and when someone wasn't, they didn't hesitate to use it. We all learned from an early age about respect and right from wrong, and those methods helped shape us into who we are today (my generation, anyway).