AMERICAN CULTURE
On mission trips to third world countries, I’ve noticed another cultural difference on the highways. In these other countries driving is a free-for-all. In the Dominican Republic, for example, Japanese mini-buses weave in and out of traffic, a spotter literally hanging out the passenger side door to advise the driver in heavy traffic.
With all this congested traffic, mo-peds, bicycles and pedestrians, not to mention straying dogs and chickens, speeds rarely get above 45 mph, but the danger is constant with such conditions. John and Marge Gudmundsen once rolled their vehicle on an open, paved highway, when they hit a pothole. I’ve witnessed dead goats on the highway in Jordan and potholes 20-30 feet across in Nigeria.
If there’s one thing that sets us apart in America, its law and order. We stop (or nearly so) at stop signs, yield at yield signs, and (usually) don’t cut each other off in traffic. All our roads are striped and well maintained. We are a neat culture.
The one area where we’re not neat is in our philosophy of values. In an attempt to please everybody, we’ve removed all absolutes that might offend. So, the result is that the next generation has no realistic value system to adopt. And the next generation will be radically worse than the first. Let’s be praying for America’s values.
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