Is the Reality Drought Ending?

It seems like the two major U.S. political parties are in the midst of an existential crisis.  The Republicans can't figure out Moral Reality, the Democrats are struggling with Fiscal Reality, and both are uncertain on Relational Reality (foreign policy).

Moral Reality - after almost five decades of sexual revolution, reality is setting in.  The relational and economic costs of abortion, promiscuity, objectification, perversion, and other flavors of "liberation/choice" are obvious to even the most libertine observer.  But ... if you've rejected God's authority as non-existent or antiquated, then you're left with an appeal to pragmatism ... a very weak defense against the power of sexual desires, which are fundamental in both focus and strength.  It's still unclear whether most Republicans understand that any culture (this is more about identity than laws) that does not set clear limits on sexual conduct cannot long survive.

Fiscal Reality - after eight decades of making promises with other people's money, reality is setting in.  We long ago ran out of our own money, so we started making promises with our children's and grandchildren's money.  That game is over.  We have two choices: (a) follow Europe and increase taxes into the 25%+ GDP range, or (b) admit that we made promises we can't keep and scale back benefits.  The former runs the risk of actually making things worse by making the U.S. even less competitive than it is today, and the latter runs the risk of a violent backlash by several generations of individuals who have lost any idea of how to create wealth (ie, they either work for the government, or take from the government).  It's still unclear whether most Democrats realize that making promises with other people's money is no longer possible, and that they will have to find some other basis for attracting voters.

Bottom line: declining birth rates, chaotic families, and raising taxes / monetizing the debt (ie, inflation) will inevitably reduce national income (and tax revenues).  While there may be temporary methadone-type relief, I'm not sure I see any alternative to some sort of "cold-turkey" withdrawal in the sexual and fiscal arenas.  Whether the patient has the will to survive is unclear.

Here's a few recent articles on these and related topics:

1. "We've Become a Nation of Takers, Not Makers" - Most folks just don't realize (a) how productive we are in manufacturing and farming (ie, how few people it takes to produce good & food), and (b) how unproductive government is.
2. "Where The Tax Money Is" - this helps explain why the leaders of President Obama's bipartisan commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform recently said that we have less than two years to fix our spending problem (ie, before we either default or monetize our debt).
3. "How to Get a Real Education" - a great description of "making something happen" by the creator of Dilbert, Scott Adams
4. "Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Knowledge Workers" - Andrew McAfee of Enterprise 2.0 fame throws cold water on the naive post-WWII notion that anyone who gets an education is set for life.  If you don't realize that you're potentially competing against every smart person who has an Internet connection, then it's time to wake up.