Building Relationships, Strengthening Communities
THE 7 PILLARS OF SOCIETY
There are 7 Pillars of Society that each of us has a role to affect and that sustain our culture. When these pillars are corrupted and corroded, they begin to crumble and fall apart. Each of them holds up an equal portion of society but when one begins to weaken or crumble, the others take on more weight. When all of them crumble, society falls apart. We must strengthen these pillars and restore them if we are ever going to see a cultural revival that brings about the return of Americas founding principles.
The Edcation pillar involves the act of diffusing and acquiring knowledge or skill. It is often one of the leading shapers of our eventual worldview. Restoring this pillar means educating ourselves and contributing to the education of others.
America was #1 ranked in the world in education as recently as the 1950's and has plummeted to 18th in the world.
Arts & Sciences Pillar
The Arts & Sciences pillar represents the creativity in us all. Many of the world's great artists were also scientists and vice versa. Archimedes, da Vinci and Benjamin Franklin are examples of people who lived in this pillar. Restoring this pillar involves restoring decorum and decency to the world of Arts and Science.
Recent revivals in this pillar such as "The Bible" miniseries (which drew 13.1 million viewers its fist week in the U.S. alone and outpaced American Idol) and the Game Show Network's "American Bible Challenge" (the most watched show in GSN history) have proven that decency and beauty still have a demand.
Church Pillar
The Church pillar is also called the "Religion" pillar and is our moral foundation and our moral foundation and our most intimate and basic belief. Restoring this pillar engages each person at their core.
Doubt, relativism and outright invasion by non-believers, coupled with weakness from some church leaders has led to only 9% of Christians having a Biblical Worldview.
Family Pillar
The Family pillar.represents the core unit of society. It is the 2st and last line of defense and the most critical factor in the survival of a civilized society. Restoring this pillar involves not only looking at the outward attacks from the world attempting to destroy the family but also looking inward to strengthen and secure our own families.
Broken families have consistently risen over the years as divorce rates, abortion and a self centered culture have driven the family out as a constant and enduring moral and defense force.
Government Pillar
The Government pillar represents the shared values and the rule of law of a society, It contains the power to make laws, carry our justice and provide for the common defense of the people. Restoring this pillar means getting involved at the local level and understanding that the most government most affected by our actions is the government closest to us.
Only 8% of Americans believe that Congress is doing a good job and a rising number that is now at 53% do not believe that either political party represents their values. More than half of the country believes that our economic conditions are worsening and 35% rate our economic condition as poor.
Media Pillar
The Media pillar consists of print, radio, television and internet news outlets. This pillar has the power to shape public opinion and create news. restoring this pillar takes conscious effort and individual action. Each of us must become reporters and seekers of the TRUTH as opposed to whatever "news" appears to be being sold by different outlets.
Radio listening (at record lows among 18-24 yr olds), print media circulation (down 41% in 10 yrs) and cable news viewership (downdramatically with FoxNews and CNN losing 33% and 28% respectively) have all experienced sharp declines while Internet readership has soared and new online outlets like theblaze.com are in the top 40 news websites in the entire world (top 30 in U.S.).
Business Pillar
The Business pillar includes commerce and economics and encompasses our work and transactions. A healthy business sector maintains a balanced flow of the production, distribution and consumption of resources and it treats each individual fairly and without bias. Restoring this pillar will mean making money simply a tool and restoring a good work ethic by promoting businesses who do business the right way, look out for their communities and stand for solid values while refusing to do business with those whose motives and practices are questionable.
Ratings of the top business sectors are down drastically over last decade. Only 30% hold a positive view of big business and 60% believe that there is widespread, large scale corruption in the business world.