The West, and specifically the United States, are in decline, jettisoning the values that made Western Civilization possible and allowed it to flourish, and seemingly bent upon committing cultural suicide. This can be seen in the increasingly violent rhetoric and public profanity of political leaders and in the increasing violence among militant protesters in the streets--indeed performance outrage. The more historic traditional values are jettisoned, belief in God, truth, moral virtue, law, liberty, the less likely the United States can maintain its e pluribus unum. American society is polarized perhaps the point of no return. But there is still hope because God exists and there is still opportunity to renew society with a return to those values that made Western Civilization, for all its faults, the most free, the most prosperous, the most blessed on earth. For more Christian commentary, see my website at www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #WesternCivilization #MoralConsensus #ePluribusUnum

Tattoos and possibly piercings have been part of the human story a lot longer than you might think, at least back to 3100 BC and probably earlier. It's just that in the 1940s-1950s tattoos were acquired by military and some others, then by the 1970s the Punk Rock movement promoted tattoos, followed by tattoos and piercings going mainstream in the 1990s, as featured on MTV. In the 2000s, body modifications of all kinds have become largely accepted. Question remains, though, should you get a tattoo or piercing and why? Interesting question that involves spiritual, religious, political, and cultural motivations and evaluations. In some sense, tattoos and piercings are generational in that Gen X and younger are more likely to sport tattoos and piercings than Boomers, but there is no hard line. As it is, tattoos and piercings tend to invoke an emotional response and this is what makes them powerful. That wonderful biblical doctrine called Christian liberty comes into play. For more Christian commentary see my webstie at www.rexmrogers.com, or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #tattoos #piercings #ChristianLiberty #BodyModification

and piercings have become a fashion fad once again in the U.S.

An old maxim from sociology borrowed from the ancient Greeks says, "Things are not always what they seem." This is certainly the case now with what's happening in American culture wherein given issues, incidents, demonstrations, and controversies, at least from the point of view of the political Left, are simply a means to an end. This issue and the chaos it generally generates are the means but the end is "power" for "the revolution." The Left makes no bones about wanting to tear down the American system and replace it with what the Left or so-called Progressives considers a fair, equitable, and just socialist or communist system in which - you guessed it - the Left's elites are in power. This may sound like a conspiracy theory, but extensive evidence can be marshaled to demonstrate the point reaching back to the 1960s. Key for conservatives, and Christians: wake up. Not "woke" but awaken to the reality of what's happening around them and stand firm for traditional values and principles that amplify truth, morality, justice, and tranquility. For more Christian commentary, see my website at www.rexmrogers.com or check my YouTube channel @DrRexRogers. #Left #Socialist #CulturalMarxist #Progressives