We can start by asking ourselves, "What was the reason for fighting the Revolutionary War?" The answer? Liberty. The pursuit of a government without far-reaching powers over the individual. The desire to be self governed and self reliant. We have been given a government based on Liberty. A government created with one purpose, to protect the rights of the individual. The rights of the people are to be paramount, and the rights of the government are to be limited, specific, and clearly spelled out. I'm convinced that not nearly enough people understand the concept of a Constitutional Republic. A republic guarantees the rights of the minority against the will of the majority. This is what separates a republic from a democracy. For the good part of the past century, our government has embarked on the slippery slope from republic to democracy; and from democracy to socialism.
Do we doubt the morality of the early Americans? We know the majority of those in government were devout men of faith. If they had desired a theocratic form of government, they would have provided one. But they did not value government-mandated virtue. They valued liberty. Far too many people say, "Well, the writers of the Constitution never could have predicted the kind of world we're living in today." hoping to justify a vote for a fellow Christian who happens to despise the inconveniences of liberty. Even if that were the case, it would be an irrelevant argument. If our form of government seems inadequate or incapable of dealing with the issues of today, it is only because the citizens have neglected to hold their representatives accountable.
The Founders had the foresight to create a form of government that would be able to tackle any problem, no matter how great or unexpected, by granting certain powers to the Federal government. Any powers not enumerated to the Federal government were to be held by the State or local governments. That is essentially the Constitution in a nutshell: A list of things the Federal government is allowed to deal with. Creating new Federal laws, no matter what societal ill they may be created to battle against, really only ensure two things: The loss of the personal liberty and privacy of individual citizens, and the creation of a Federal agency and police force to enforce the Federal law. Besides, do we really want to depend on government to make sure our fellow citizens are living up to a moral code? Oh yes, because the Federal government is so effective at every other cause they've embarked upon. (Can you sense the sarcasm?) Think of the 'War on Poverty' or the 'War on Drugs', for example. In the end, no matter how well intentioned, these efforts to 'legislate morality' will always fail.
My final and most simple thought on this subject would be this: When personal morality is demanded by law, the result is without meaning, as it came by force. Just stop and think about it. God has given us free will, to decide to live our lives for Him, or for our own selfish desires. If we truly want to stop the moral decay of society we should focus on convincing individuals to share our personal religious beliefs, instead of trying to use the force of political means to accomplish a moral end. This was the folly of the Jews during the time of Jesus. They had built up an idea of a Messiah who would provide political change; to the point that when Jesus revealed Himself as a personal savior, they rejected Him. I don't think we need our government to save us from ourselves.
