History Lessons

I am currently reading a book by Jon Meacham about president Andrew Jackson call American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House.

Meacham is not a conservative author by any means by I am struck by the content of his book. Our history is so steeped in Christian heritage that he has spent the first one third of the book describing a moral dilemma President Jackson faced in his own cabinet.

Seems one of his cabinet members, John Eaton, married a woman of poor reputation. It was rumored that she had conceived a child through an adulteress affair and had had many male partners in her young life. The scandal played havoc in his first administration.

My observation is this. If we were not a nation guided by Christian morality there would have been no controversy would there? We had very Christian beginnings.

I'm not condoning or condemning the treatment Mrs. Eaton got. I'm saying there would not have been a scandal had there not been high moral standards in that day.

The standard that they embraced and that was thought to be violated was this: sex was to be enjoyed only in the bonds of marriage. Only in the security of a family should a child be born. In Jackson's day there were no social programs to support someone who strayed from the protection of this moral standard. Destitution defined those who did.

It was also considered a lack of character for someone to engage in reckless behavior for such momentary self gratification when the stakes were so high.

We have come a long way. We think nothing of this kind of behavior now and fully expect too write the check for it. In doing this we encourage the bad behavior. All parties are damaged in the process, including the children born.

Since we cannot teach a strict abstinence morality in schools these days, because you know we are not a Christian nation, we can expect you men to feel at liberty with young ladies. The destitution of fatherless children will continue to grow in our country.

If only we could learn from our own history.

I can't end this without making an appeal to young men. I beg you, do not demean and defame the rites of manhood before you have the substance of character to make good on the commitment required to really go "all the way."