America the Beautiful?

I am an American who loves my country. And I will remain a proud American until the day I die.
But it is getting more difficult for me to defend the United States of America as a good nation and a defender of justice and peace around the globe.

For in the United States of America, more than 1 million children are killed each year. America exports our culture of death and destruction across the globe, through our support of family planning programs and our ever-increasing use of drones. Our culture is incredibly materialistic, based in consumerism and laziness.

I am not arguing that America is the great Satan and the destroyer of the world. Nor do I believe that America is the sole cause of every evil that happens on earth. Indeed, I still do believe that America, on the whole, generally shows far more moral sense than its fellow developed nations (Europe, Japan).

But as the world's "superpower," America has a moral responsibility to act justly and to live morally - to be a "city on the hill," as it was founded to be, and a force for justice and virtue. Americans have a responsibility to lead by example, and have largely done so (for example, during their long fight against Communism).

But America's moral superiority has diminished since then, and is waning fast. Marriage is being redefined, with all that goes with it. American culture is rapidly descending into crudeness and baseness, displaying ever-increasing violence and immorality on our movie screens, televisions, canvases, and radios. And the American government, under President Obama, is slowly phasing out religious freedom, by implementing a mandate for Catholic institutions to pay insurance companies to pay for birth control.

Not all in America is dark and gloomy. Americans are slowly becoming more pro-life (although the meaning of that term may be called into question). Americans still have freedom of speech, relative freedom of the press, and the ability to worship without fear. And Americans still show a heartening propensity to rise to face challenges in moments of crisis.

But these blessings of freedom, while great indeed, are increasingly tenuous in a world where the very meaning of liberty has been altered. To paraphrase from a quote from Sir Edward Grey during World War I, the lamps of liberty are going out across the world, including in America.