May 1, 2008

I want to share with you this morning a commentary I did on a local Washington, D.C. commercial station this week.

When Jimmy Carter suggested America had reached her limits and might have to cut back, he was trounced by Ronald Reagan who said America’s best days were ahead.

Reports of food shortages in some parts of the world and stories about Costco and Sam’s Club limiting how much rice we can buy at their stores ought to serve as a teaching moment. No one expects ration books as in World War II, but the question is how much is enough?

Do we expect housing prices to keep going up forever and the stock market along with it? Do we believe more is better and if our children aren’t better off materially than we are we have failed them? What about the things of greater value such as character, honor and virtue? They can’t get those from baby sitters and daycare workers.

Three generations have been born since World War II. They know little about sacrifice.

Ask yourself: if you really had to cutback, could you? Would you? Now is a good time to think about it before it happens, if it does.

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Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C.