The reason America is in the mess it’s in
By Tom Hoefling - Posted at Substack:
There’s only one way out
Published August 22, 2026
"Men, in a word, must necessarily be controlled either by a power within them or by a power without them; either by the Word of God or by the strong arm of man; either by the Bible or by the bayonet."
-- Robert Winthrop, early Speaker of the U.S. House of RepresentativesHere in the United States, our republican, constitutional system of governance is predicated on the idea that we are capable of self-governance, or, self-control. Without this principle, the American republic is doomed, because a society that is not capable of governing its own passions quickly becomes ungovernable.
Our second president spelled it out clearly for us:
"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution is designed only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate for any other."
-- President John AdamsWhat is the only real Source of the ability to govern yourself, ultimately? The Spirit of God. Self-control is one of the fruits of His Spirit.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”
— Galatians 5:22-23Oh, you can fake it for a short while, apart from the Lord. But when you build your house on shifting sand, it will always end up falling down, when the inevitable storms of life come. It’s as sure as the sunrise. We reap what we sow. These are the simple, easily-understandable laws of nature, that our Creator built into His creation.
