The final nail in the coffin came in 1913 when federal senators began to be elected by popular vote rather than by the state legislatures. That was the last real check on federal encroachment on the authority of the states. It has all been downhill from there. To further seal the fate of the nation, 1920 brought in women’s suffrage. Up until that time, the vote was essentially “one family – one vote”. The family unit was seen as the primary unit of our culture – not the “me first” idea of the libertine individualist. It, like the current “feminist” movement, sells the idea of giving rights to the individual, and that is certainly a noble goal. The problem is that it helps destroy the family by placing the individual above the family. In order for a family to succeed, the individuals who are a part of that family must make a series of sacrifices for the good of the family. That used to be built into our culture and our political system. The egalitarian movement has destroyed that, and our families and our culture have been in a steady decline – largely because of that. That is a very unpopular stand to take, but take it I must, because it is right.