We are failing our families, America. We are failing our mothers. Our fathers. Our children.

We are failing our future and the ramifications are evident across the nation.

Why do we live in such a time of turmoil? Because the heart of society, our families, are being torn apart limb by limb, piece by piece.

Our men are not able to play their role in for fear of being accused of “toxic masculinity.”

Our women are not able to play their role for fear of being accused of being either too submissive or too aggressive.

Our children are not able to play their role because they are bombarded too young with too much independence masked as “identity.”

Our babies are not able to play their role because their future is viewed as our choice.

Our world is a reflection of our failure, of our brokenness, of our voluntary blindness.

We’ve accurately identified love as being the missing element in our world, but incorrectly attributed what kind of love we are missing.

We don’t love ourselves well enough, soft enough, or simply enough, we tell ourselves.

We’ve been too hard on our skin, on our minds, on our souls. We must love ourselves better. We must love ourselves more. And we must make decisions based on what makes us feel loved.

But with the rise of self love, the brokenness has not diminished.

We have a shortage of happiness, we tell ourselves. We do not allow ourselves enough happiness. Throw off the shackles of “rules” and “tradition.” It is this that has bound us to unhappiness.

Freedom is happiness, we have said.

Knowledge is happiness.

Independence is happiness.

But even with nearly unlimited access to information, freedom, and independence in this nation, we are no less broken. And, my guess is, increasing these things will not change that.

We have deconstructed the foundation of our society and asked why what we build keeps falling apart.

No longer is the family at the center of our nation–no, the individual is king. The constraints of a belonging are too tight for “who we truly are” to show. The “family” is a social construct that was imposed on us, not an integral structure to our existence. It is this that has made us unhappy, it is this that has made us forget to love ourselves. Because everyone knows, “you can’t expect someone else to love you if you don’t love yourself.”

Love has been so twisted and torn, we wouldn’t know it if He was standing right in front of us. Happiness is a fleeting, all too alluring siren, promised to us but never delivered.

Why do you think we keep coming out empty? Why do you think the gorges deepen in our divide?

We have failed, my friends. We’ve failed to recognize the importance and sanctity of the most essential piece in our societal structure–family.

Instead, family is viewed as a means to fulfill our need for happiness, our need for self-love, if that’s what you decide. Family is just an option in a plethora that we can pluck out and place in our basket to taste and spit back out if needed.

Our commitment is no longer to our families–to the success of spouses, parents, and children in their roles. Our commitment is to the individual to play whatever role in whatever construct they so choose.

Ultimate freedom demands ultimate responsibility, but we do not want to take it, because we couldn’t handle it.

We are inherently broken beings, but we were intended to join together to overcome our brokenness. When there is no value in this togetherness, you will find a lot of self-loving, happiness seeking individuals with gaping holes in their souls.

Do not question why this nation looks the way it does. Look at what we’ve done to our families; the answer is obvious.