When you have lived long enough to experience the windup Victrola and icebox you were raised with become “collectibles” or used for “décor” you have lived through a lot of changes here in America. The changes in just my own lifetime have been so dramatic as to cause me to be in awe of them at times. But while language and clearly defined and secure borders are the glue that holds any nation together its traditions are of nearly as great importance as Tevye made clear in “Fiddler on the Roof.” And while some traditions may give place to better ways I have cause to wonder what of American traditions may have been forsaken for things that have worked to the detriment of our nation.

There is a need for both “new wine” as well as not removing “the ancient landmark, which thy fathers have set.” However, to distinguish these requires leadership with the wisdom to know the difference and prioritize accordingly. But without such leadership a nation will fail. This is why I do not believe America will be a factor in the End Times, but is that nation described as “Babylon” in Revelation. We have a failure of leadership in America, and none on the horizon possessed with the kind of wisdom that would deliver us from the path of destruction we are now on.

But we are in this position as a nation because for a very long time now we have been without leadership that had the wisdom to guide us; on the contrary we have been ruled by politicians, not those with vision and character to chart another course. Much like the Prodigal Son our inheritance has been wasted on things that have not benefited the good of America, but rather things that have been destructive of the moral base of our country, things allowing the importance of family for example to be eroded with nothing of any lasting value as a substitute.

If there is no moral “anchor” for a government or society it is impossible to rightly distinguish between the new wine and the ancient landmark, what should give way to better and what must be retained, a balancing act that cries out for the very best of wisdom and leadership. But who among us really believes the path of wisdom is where our government leadership is taking us? And I for one see nothing better for us no matter who becomes our next president.

The tiny nation of Israel has been a success in balancing secular and religious views, balancing new wine and the ancient landmark and has managed to be an example of how the right leadership can best serve the needs of its people. But it has been nothing short of miraculous Israel became a nation once more, and has managed to not only survive but prosper in the face of so many enemies determined to destroy it. And there should be no mistaking Iran’s mad mullah actually intending to “wipe Israel off the map!” And it is here where I am more than willing to credit the Biblical view of Israel in the scheme of history. That this tiny nation should be so prominent on the world stage would be considered ridiculous had anyone said such a thing in time past, but here we are in the present and so it has come to be.

Because I recall the windup Victrola and icebox as “luxuries” of America past, and then these giving way to improvements and becoming a standard of living in so many homes with promises of a better future I am too old now to worry about what may become of me. So I look about and consider the events taking place here in America and globally with a certain amount of detached interest, more as a spectator than any longer a participant. It isn’t that I have become detached from suffering humankind; far from it. But I have accepted there is little I can do to change the course of events.

I will continue to be involved with politics and will continue casting my vote hoping for the best, not because I believe my vote will change anything but because it is both my privilege and duty to do so as an American, just as I believe it to be the privilege and duty of every American. But there is something quite melancholy about living long enough to look back so far and still having the mental faculty to vividly recall so many things of the past, especially the things that gave us so much cause for hope of the future.

There was a time when people were not so confused about new wine and ancient landmarks, and having lived it I miss that time in America past. It was far from perfect back then, but what prospect is there now for a better future. The friction of greed, corruption and incompetence threatens the machinery of government at all levels and it seems only a matter of a short time when it will be quite beyond being able to function at all but will self-destruct. And should that happen, where is there a friend in the world to offer help and would be both trustworthy and capable to help putting America back together. But it is now this generation’s turn to try and do better than my generation did.