Changes In Thomas Merton's Seeds Of Destruction

The universal and well-established axiom, that what goes up comes down, has relevancy in every aspect of our lives. It is evident that cycles of change create the ups and downs that affect every living creature. It is equally true that movements in the life cycle, going from birth to death and start to finish, are similar to the directions we take in life. We are constantly engaged in a system of movements that produce both advances and declines. It is of the more powerful traits that motivate mankind. On most levels, it usually tends to run from the highest level to the lowest. There are exceptions of course, as noted by Orson Welles, “I started at the top and worked my way down.” Even society, on a global scale, has experienced both great advancements in unison with serious declines.
Citing the decline of Rome, France, Spain and England, which dominated and influenced the world during their days of glory, many claim that their past now portends our future. Our society has become freedom affluent, to such an extent that we seem obsessed with rights, while ignoring responsibility. To paraphrase Thomas Merton in his book Seeds of Destruction, if a society adopts a position where the dominant philosophy is every man for himself, leading to the rejection of altruism and sacrifice, it can only find its way out of such an impasse by growing into a new society. The current culture shows a trend toward permitting activities that would be restricted under historical standards for morality, sexuality and freedom of speech. Many in our polarized society see the results as a decline in principals, religion, education and values. Abortion, promiscuity, and hedonism are in vogue, and have a corrupting influence on families, which must be the basic foundation of any