CROSSVILLE — Since the election, one thing that has become apparent is that conservatives are fighting a losing battle. What is not apparent to many, though, is why. What should have been a slam dunk was instead a demoralizing defeat. Despite numerous scandals and a dismal economy, the Obama campaign somehow eked out a win. The upset has left strategists, pundits and politicians reeling. What are Republicans to do if they want to win elections? Many of these confused individuals have come to the conclusion that the Republican party needs to become more like the Democratic party. This is, however, a losing strategy.

The democrats have discovered that they can buy votes using public coffers. While this strategy may win elections, it will lose the republic. Welfare payments now amount to $30 per hour, based on a 40-hour week. The average wage among U.S. workers not on welfare is $25 per hour. Taking into account that those workers pay taxes on their wages, whereas welfare recipients do not, the average wage is further lowered to $21 per hour. In effect, welfare recipients make $9 more per hour not to work than workers do to earn a wage. How long do our leaders expect that formula to be sustainable? The fact of the matter is they don’t care, as long as they can stay in power. Mr. Obama has added more people to the food stamp rolls than his policies have added to the job rolls, and that’s not about to change. When the food stamp program was implemented in 1970, one out of every 50 Americans received assistance. Today that number is one in six. This is simply not the America that it used to be.

At the heart of the matter is the culture war. Somewhere along the line, a notion that our country was founded on atheism has polluted our society. Religious freedom has somehow morphed into religious exclusion, and this poison has seeped into virtually every aspect of our lives. Recently in the news was a story about a restaurant in Pennsylvania that was sued by an atheist group on the grounds of discrimination, because the business offered a 10 percent discount on Sundays to anyone who brought in a church bulletin. This practice was deemed to be discriminatory because the plaintiff didn’t attend church. This sort of ridiculousness is becoming more and more prevalent, and our government is becoming more and more complicit. Atheists, and other groups, are successfully arguing that Christians are pushing their beliefs on them, and are thereby guilty of committing what has become the ultimate sin–hurting their feelings. It is now perfectly acceptable not to believe in God; however, the opposite is not always true. Many companies prohibit their employees from wishing customers a “Merry Christmas,” prayer is only  allowed in school if nobody can hear it and religious displays on public property are prohibited. So who is pushing their beliefs on whom?

What made this country so great was the spirit of rugged individualism and a sense of self governance. Our predecessors didn’t want or need anyone telling them how to live. They conducted themselves in a moral manner consistent with the teachings of the Judeo-Christian philosophy. In 1787, there were four federal crimes, today there are over 4,500. Americans no longer know how to conduct themselves. We have lost our moral compass. Benjamin Franklin once said, “Laws without morals are in vain.” Until about 40 years ago, Americans were taught that the founding fathers held Christian beliefs. Since then, there has been a massive campaign of disinformation that refutes historical evidence. Did you know that church services used to be held regularly in the U.S. Capitol building? Religious displays on public property do not violate any notion of “separation of church and state.” That phrase doesn’t even appear in the Constitution, although you would think it did from the manner in which it is paraded by our society.

Conservatives need to realize they’re losing the culture war and, as a result, losing the next generation. Radical thinkers have strategically imbedded themselves into positions of influence. They dominate the media, the entertainment industry and the education system. They now control the language, which allows them to dominate the conversation.

They teach false principles that are contrary to what our nation was founded upon. Political correctness is the new religion. Personal responsibility and accountability have gone the way of the gold standard, discarded for the fiat currency of “whatever feels good.” The next generation of leaders has been taught that everyone should get a trophy, no matter how hard they work. Conservatives have a very long struggle ahead to recapture what once was. The first step is bringing the church back. Christians have got to reinstitute their influence. We need good people to run for office, to become educators and, more than anything, to live by example.

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Clinton Gill is editor of the Glade Sun. His column is published weekly. He may be reached at cgill@crossville-chronicle.com.