SOUL definition: “The spiritual, rational, and immortal substance in man, which distinguishes him from brutes; that part of man which enables him to think and reason, and which renders him a subject of moral government.” (American Dictionary of the English Language, Noah Webster”).
Have you noticed the atmosphere in America lately? There is a definable drift in the American landscape which does not bode well for the direction of our nation. We have lost the uniqueness of the American spirit.
In Webster’s definition, the soul differentiates man from brutes. A brute is defined as a person lacking intelligence, sensitivity, and compassion. We are all born with a brute inside us waiting to be unleashed. Fortunately, in most cases, the brute is adequately tethered before it can do much damage. Some of the brutishness is evident in a two-year-old…or leaking out occasionally through one’s teenage years. But by the time of accountability most of us have had our brute tamed and safely locked up behind years of parental, educational and penal admonitions.
Sadly, the nation is currently suffering from unconstrained and public brutishness. Headline after headline screams at us about random assaults on persons and property. We have seen the horror of the viciousness committed on our Asian and Jewish citizens by mindless violence. We see mobs looting. We see our young swarming the streets with evil intent. We see shooting, knifing, and battering and general anarchy drape whole communities with fear. We are afraid to walk our streets. We do not expect the law to protect us. When slaughter and pillage go unchecked people are faced with a fight or flight decision. Flight is the reaction of most to this rampant violence and crime.
What has happened over the years that has depreciated the civilizing influence of parents, educators, and the justice system? What dramatic societal shifts in the last 60 years have occurred that have eroded our culture’s ability to restrain the brute? We will have more to say on this later.