Following on from John Leake's poignant reflection on the "degeneracy of manners and morals" spurred by America's perpetual war mentality (see link below), it's worth delving deeper into how this moral erosion signals a profound societal fracture. James Madison's 1795 warning about war breeding inequality, fraud, and moral decay resonates more than ever in 2025, as polls and cultural observations paint a grim picture of a nation unravelling at its ethical seams. From hyper-partisan vitriol to everyday incivility, the breakdown of morals isn't just a symptom, it's a harbinger of systemic collapse, eroding trust, stability, and the very fabric of communal life. And this is right across the West now.
Recent surveys underscore a pervasive sense of moral decline among Americans. According to Gallup's 2025 polling, a staggering 66% of U.S. adults believe the nation's moral values are "getting worse," with only 29% seeing improvement and a mere 3% viewing them as stable. This pessimism has intensified since the early 2000s, aligning with Leake's timeline of post-2001 war-induced hyper-vigilance. Similarly, a Psychology Today analysis from 2024 questions whether morality is truly declining or being manipulated, but acknowledges that 83% of Americans perceive worsening values, with 54% rating the state of morals as "poor."
Pew Research in February 2025 reveals a nuanced divide: 68% of Americans believe it's possible to be moral without faith in God, up from previous decades, suggesting a shift away from traditional religious anchors. Yet, this secularisation coincides with rising acceptance of behaviours once deemed taboo. Gallup's trends show increased moral approval for issues like gay relations (from lower baselines to higher in 2025), but persistent disapproval for acts like adultery and cloning, indicating selective moral relativism. The Arizona Christian University's 2025 report goes further, highlighting that most adults reject moral absolutes, leading to contradictory views that undermine societal cohesion.
These statistics aren't abstract, they manifest in real-world breakdowns. The erosion of family structures, churches, and schools has stripped society of its moral safeguards, leading to instability and corruption. Liberalism's unchecked "liberation" leads to unruliness and decay, echoing Plato's warnings about moral degradation fostering cynicism and unrest.
The moral breakdown is evident in escalating political aggression and public violence. Leake's examples, screaming on talk shows, subway assaults, and congressmen signing bombs, find echoes in 2025's headlines. Political violence, as explored in Greater Good Magazine, stems from dehumanisation and echo chambers, driving events like threats against figures such as Tucker Carlson or broader partisan clashes. On X, users lament how cognitive dissonance in polarised groups leads to "mass scale breakage," with rage and vandalism as outlets for crumbling worldviews.
Cultural shifts since the 1960s, amplified by media like Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, have normalised vulgarity and violence, supplanting virtues like prudence with "authentic" emotional outbursts. This ties into broader ethical lapses: Ethisphere's 2025 review highlights scandals in DEI, anti-corruption, and corporate ethics, reflecting systemic moral failures. As one post warns, drug permissiveness contributes to family breakdown and crime, exacerbating societal decay.
In education and media, the story is similar. Rising cyberbullying, misinformation, and biases in algorithms, listed in ethical issues compilations, erode trust and amplify divisions. X discussions point to targeting youth, setting up future generations for degeneration through moral relativism.
This moral erosion isn't isolated; it's a catalyst for societal collapse. Historical philosophers like Spenglersee America's divide not as moral dissimilarity but as failed bargains between groups, leading to instability. Columbia Magazine notes bipartisan agreement on moral free fall, linking it to polarisation and institutional distrust.
Economically, moral decay breeds fraud and inequality, as Madison predicted. Socially, it fosters unrest: Posts reference observations on media and family rot leading to collapse, a stark (if controversial) parallel to today's cultural wars. Spiritually, as one user states, an unhealthy nation invites sickness in government, churches, and families.
To avert wider breakdown, reclaiming moral anchors is essential. This could mean revitalising family and community structures, promoting temperance over unchecked expression, and fostering dialogue across divides. As Plato implied, mocking virtue leads to collapse; valuing it might rebuild resilience.
In 2025, amid ongoing wars and cultural clashes, Madison's words urge reflection: No nation preserves freedom in continual warfare, or moral decay. The breakdown of morals isn't just ugly fruit; it's the rot threatening the tree of liberty itself.
https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/the-degeneracy-of-manners-and-morals