What is Truth in Today's Culture?

Two forces that have shaped American culture – education and media, working together to redefine truth as something flexible, emotional, or subjective.

When education loses objective truth and media amplifies subjective truth, culture becomes confused about what truth is.

Here is how the two forces interact:

1. Education shapes how people think

When schools stop teaching:

·       objective truth

·       moral reasoning

·       historical accuracy

·       and principled discernment

students grow up believing truth is whatever feels right or whatever the group accepts.

This weakens:

·       personal responsibility

·       critical thinking

·       moral courage

·       and the ability to stand for truth

Media shapes what people feel

Media doesn’t just inform – it forms:

·       emotions

·       reactions

·       fears

·       loyalties

·       and assumptions

When media rewards outrage, tribalism, and emotional narratives, it trains people to respond to feelings instead of facts.

Together, education and media create a culture where:

·       truth is unclear

·       discernment is rare

·       responsibility is inconvenient

·       community involvement is shallow

·       and citizenship becomes fragile

And here’s the Biblical parallel:

Whenever truth becomes confused, people “do what is right in their own eyes” – and society fractures.

The Founders believed that truth must be taught, modeled, and reinforced or freedom collapses.

Strengthening the family unit is where every long-lasting cultural renewal in Scripture and in American history begins. Families are the first school of truth, the first model of integrity, and the first training ground for responsibility.

When families are strong:

·       children learn what truth is before culture tries to redefine it

·       character is modeled daily, not occasionally

·       discernment becomes a habit, not a crisis response

·       citizenship begins forming long before adulthood

Biblically, this is the pattern God designed:

·       Parents teach children diligently (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)

·       Wisdom begins in the home (Proverbs 1)

·       Faith is generational (Psalm 78)

·       Truth is lived before it is taught (James 1:22)

And historically the Founders believed families Produce Virtue – Virtue produces Discernment – Discernment Produces Responsible Citizens – Responsible Citizens Sustain a Free Nation.

That is why strengthening families is the most powerful way to restore clarity about truth in a confused culture. Families are where truth becomes visible, practical, and habitual. 

When families model integrity and teach truth:

·       education can be corrected

·       media can be filtered

·       culture can be influenced

·       communities can be rebuilt

·       citizenship can be restored

The fracture of family has been a rich, emotionally charged topic with deep historical roots. Let’s take a look at the slow unraveling of the Family Unit that was once a legacy rooted in strength.

For most of human history, the family was the center of life – spiritually, economically, emotionally, and socially. It was the place where identity was formed, faith was taught, and purpose was discovered. The home wasn’t just where people lived; it was where people became.

But over time, the forces shaping society began to reshape the family itself. When work left the home during the industrial shift, families that for generations, had worked together – farming, crafting, building, raising children side by side – the Industrial Revolution changed that rhythm.

·       Factories pulled fathers out of the home

·       Urbanization scattered extended families

·       Children became students rather than apprentices

The home, once the center of shared labor and shared life, became quieter – and more fragmented.

This was the first major crack.

A cultural revolution was taking shape with redefining roles and expectations. The 20^th century brought waves of cultural change while some of it empowered individuals, much of it unintentionally weakened the bonds that held families together.

·       The rise of individualism over community

·       Shifting views of marriage and commitment

·       The normalization of divorce

·       The decline of multigenerational households

Families became smaller, more isolated, and more fragile.

With the rise of technology, we were connected everywhere, present nowhere. The digital age promised connection – but delivered distraction where screens replaced conversation, entertainment replaced shared experiences, and social media replaced real community.

Children began forming their identity online instead of within the safety of family. Parents became busier, more tired, and more divided attention.

The Home was no longer the loudest voice.

The modern family with its economic pressures where survival overshadows stability, face a strain that previous generations rarely knew:

·       Two-income households became a necessity

·       Work hours expanded

·       Mobility uprooted families from their support systems

·       Childcare became outsourced

In the heart of this slow turn, was the decline in faith and the heart of the home grew quiet. Historically, faith was the glue of the family unit. It shaped values, rhythms, and relationships. But as faith practices declined, so did the spiritual cohesion of the home. Without shared belief, shared purpose weakens and unity fractures and the family legacy fades.

Scripture warned of this:

“If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalms 11:3)

The weakening of faith became the weakening of family.

The result is a generation searching for what was lost. Our Gen Z, Gen Alpha, and Gen Beta children are growing in a world where loneliness is epidemic, identity is unstable, anxiety is rising, community is thin, and the family structure is often fractured. They are searching for belonging, meaning, and stability – things the family was designed to provide.  

And this is where the story turns.

We can redeem our Lady Liberty by restoring what history has eroded. The demise of the family unit is not the end of the story.

It is a Call to Action.

·       Families can be rebuilt

·       Faith can be restored

·       Legacy can be disciplined again

The solution is not found in policy, culture, or technology – but in the Home with parents who choose presence, grandparents who choose mentorship, in communities who choose discipleship, and Families who Choose Faith.

This is how we rebuild what history has worn down.

The legacy begins again even though the family unit appears to have been weakened over time, but it is not beyond repair. Every generation has the chance to restore what was lost – and my Generation – Baby Boomers – is uniquely positioned to lead that restoration.

Because legacy does not begin in society, but in the living room, at the dinner table, in prayer whispered over children, in Scripture opened together, and in stories passed down.

The family was once the strongest force in history.

It can be again.