While many people would love nothing more than to stand back and wish away the problems that are currently facing America, Dr. Ben Carson is not one of them. As someone who overcame poverty and a life surrounded by crime and violence to become a renowned pediatric neurosurgeon, the former presidential candidate has never been afraid to get his hands dirty. In fact, his new book, “The Perilous Fight: Overcoming Our Culture’s War on the American Family,” could be considered a call to action of sorts for those who are serious about winning the culture war and restoring America to her former glory.
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“All the violence, the hatred, the mental illness, anxiety, depression, suicides, it’s almost like we’re just falling apart. And I see a lot of people wringing their hands and saying we’re done for, but we’re not done for. What we have to really recognize is that we’re in a fight,” Dr. Carson told The Washington Times’ Higher Ground. “When our country was born, it was born in a crucible of controversy, of hatred, of war. And we had to fight our way through that. And we have to fight our way through it now, too.”
The longtime Christian believes America’s decline began as attacks on faith and family increased. After all, what affects families affects our communities, and what affects our communities affects the culture.
“The traditional nuclear family in America is diminishing very rapidly,” Dr. Carson noted. “And what constitutes a great nation? Great communities. And what constitutes great communities? Great families. It’s the basic unit. What’s happened is we’ve seen a sustained attack on traditional families.”
The 72-year-old cites governmental interference, declining Judeo-Christian values and growing tendencies to put politics over people as a few of the main culprits destroying the family, as well as the community spirit that made America so unique and successful.
SEE ALSO: WATCH: Ben Carson talks chaos and erosion of values in America
“One of the things that really allowed us to accelerate on the pathway to the pinnacle of the world was our community spirit,” Dr. Carson said. “You know, if it was harvest time and Mr. Jones broke his leg, everybody else harvested his crops. No questions asked. We didn’t care what his religion was. We didn’t care what his political affiliation was. We cared about the fact that he was our neighbor and he needed help. And, uh, that was something that characterized America — the American spirit.”
And while attacks on faith and the family aren’t unexpected, the problem, Dr. Carson says, is that too many people would rather sit on the sidelines than speak up.
“One of the things that I realized when I was running for president several years ago is that most people in the smallest little hamlets to the largest cities, most people in this country actually have common sense,” Dr. Carson explained. “But what they don’t necessarily have is courage. People would rather stand in a corner and stare at the floor. But you can’t really be the land of the free if you’re not the home of the brave.”
That’s a big part of why Dr. Carson founded the American Cornerstone Institute in 2021, which is committed to developing solutions to our nation’s troubles that are guided by the principles of faith, liberty, community, and life — both at the local and national levels.
“You have to use your influence in your sphere of influence,” Dr. Carson said. “And everybody has a sphere of influence to confront these things, to talk about them. We’re told from the time that we’re children, there are two things that you don’t talk about, religion and politics. Those are the exact things we need to be talking about. Those are the things that are being manipulated in order to change our society. And they don’t want you to talk about it.”
The devoted husband, father and grandfather noted that being brave isn’t always easy — something he knows from experience. But the payoff is always worth it.
“I want people to recognize that they’re not spectators, that they are participants in this fight, that they have to get involved,” Dr. Carson concluded. “They have to know what’s at stake. They have to realize that their children and their grandchildren depend on them to do something. Just like the people who preceded us.”
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Marissa Mayer is a writer and editor with more than 10 years of professional experience. Her work has been featured in Christian Post, The Daily Signal, and Intellectual Takeout. Mayer has a B.A. in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing from Arizona State University.
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