Elon Musk and his DOGE-related spending cut recommendations have dominated headlines in recent weeks.

Some Americans are treating the announcement of these cuts like Christmas morning, thrilled at the idea that they get to keep more of their money, rather than have it go toward projects they disagree with – such as the transgender mice President Trump infamously called out in his speech before Congress on March 4.

Others, however, have met such cuts with weeping and gnashing of teeth. Such actions are unnecessary, they say, and most of all, unkind, inconsiderate of those who will lose their jobs or the benefits they need to subsist in American culture.

If we step back from the political rancor and take an objective view of the situation, it’s clear that these two opposing viewpoints likely want the same thing: a decent, honorable culture of which they can be proud. But what makes a culture a decent one?

A simple answer might be one in which people do good, where there is little harm to others, and where everyone can flourish and live an abundant life.

“Aha!” those opposed to Musk’s cuts would likely say. “That’s exactly why I’m opposed to these heartless actions – they harm too many people and therefore create an indecent culture.”

But according to leading 20th-century philosopher and historian Russell Kirk, history tells us otherwise. “[I]t seems that people are decent,” Kirk writes in The Sword of Imagination, “chiefly out of habit.”

They fall into habits of decent conduct by religious instruction, by settled family life, by assuming private responsibilities, by the old incentives of private gain and advancement in rewards for decent conduct. When the individual seems to run no risks; when food, shelter, and even comforts are guaranteed by the state, no matter what one’s conduct may be; when the state arrogates to itself a complex of responsibilities that formerly were undertaken by church, family, voluntary association, and the private person – why, then the old habits of decency are weakened, and the police constable … [is] required to maintain precariously by compulsion what once was taken for granted….

Kirk continues by saying:

[I]t is not slums that make the people, but people that make the slums. And at bottom the remedies for slums are not bigger wages, or bricks and mortar, or huge new schools, but instead those habits of decency and responsibility beyond the grasp of welfare-state measures.

Much of what Kirk describes seems quite familiar to our society. We don’t like risks – we bubble-wrap our children, while lawyer-speak warning labels pepper everything from hot coffee to peanut butter – we look to the government to care for us, and we think that more money and a better environment will solve all the crime and brokenness we see swirling in our cities and communities.

But as Kirk explains, these things are just quick-fixes, Band-Aids, if you will, ineffectively trying to hold a crumbling society together.

What then, is the real fix, the formula for building a decent society? Kirk names the following four things: religious instruction, family life, private responsibilities, rewards for good character.

So how do we incorporate these four things in our homes to make sure our children grow up to be decent members of society?

Religious Instruction: Church attendance – not just online services and an occasional appearance in the pew – but a regular, active participation in services and fellowship should be a part of family life.

But religious instruction shouldn’t just be left to the church; it should also occur in the home. Regular Bible reading, prayer time, and singing hymns or religious songs together are simple ways to instill the importance of spiritual things and decent character in your children.

Settled Family Life: It’s often common for divorced parents to convince themselves that their marital problems don’t affect their children. But they do. Adult children of divorce testify that they felt unsettled, shuffled back and forth from one home to another. So avoid divorce at all costs, preventing that destabilized environment, and instead spend time with both your spouse and children with routines like family dinner or Friday game nights.

Assuming Private Responsibilities: In a society where victimhood is treated like a prize, teach your children to take ownership of their actions and for those around them. Taking care of grandparents, rather than shuffling them off to a nursing home, tackling chores, and helping neighbors with storm cleanup are simple ways to help children make private responsibility a regular part of their lives.

Incentives and Rewards: Sometimes parents can get so caught up in trying to make their children into successful adults, that they forget the importance of play. So help your children see that life is not just drudgery by making time for fun, connecting responsibilities completed to rewards such as ice cream, a camping trip, or a day at the waterpark. To paraphrase a friend of mine, if God, as a good Father, gives us good rewards for following His ways, shouldn’t we do the same for our children?

The DOGE debate and the quest for a decent society will likely continue unabated in the coming months. But rather than get caught up in the politics of the issue, why don’t we just start working toward that decent society by cultivating those in our own homes and backyards? Chances are, those actions will last far longer and have a much greater impact than a few national spending cuts.

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The republication of this article is made possible by The Fred & Rheta Skelton Center for Cultural Renewal. 

Image Credit: Flickr-GPA Photo Archive, CC BY-SA 2.0