With all the festivities of the Fourth of July behind us, perhaps now we can focus on the more serious side of our nation's latest birthday.

With every birthday we acknowledge that we're a year older. But it's important to ask: "Are we any wiser for having lived another year?"

Wisdom does not automatically come with age. It takes much study, broad observation, honesty, humility and prayer. And because it requires such ongoing effort, wisdom is rarely found in our modern culture of instant gratification.

At the heart of wisdom one finds truth. Instead of starting with a personal agenda and striving to justify it (which is rationalization), seekers of the truth objectively look at all sides of important issues in the light of the Gospel and Catholic social teaching.

In a spirit of prayer, they arrive at conclusions which best protect the lives and dignity of each and every concerned person.

But sadly, it appears that most government and corporate leaders, and most citizens and consumers, fail to do their moral homework, instead often making self-serving decisions that lack critical analysis and deep prayer.

Corporations like Wal-Mart buy clothes made by extremely poor sweatshop workers in developing countries. Instead of demanding and verifying that suppliers pay living wages and provide decent conditions for their workers, Wal-Mart representatives state that they are providing jobs to people who might otherwise have none.

And Wal-Mart customers benefit from cheap sweatshop merchandise without ever challenging corporate policy.

In many instances, when a teenage girl or a woman becomes pregnant, a legal abortion is sought. This is often due to pressure from the biological father with no thought given to the fact that an unborn baby will be brutally murdered.

Less than 0.4 percent of the U.S. federal budget goes to help the world's poor. Yet most government leaders and millions of citizens make boastful claims that our nation is generous to the poor.

Propaganda and even downright lies are sometimes presented as facts by certain leaders in government to justify military intervention. The Vietnam and Iraq wars are two glaring examples.

Torture of detainees and prisoners of war by some members of the military and the CIA is justified by various leaders as high up as the president because of claims that it is necessary for "national security."

Earlier this year Congress passed the Intelligence Authorization Bill, which prohibited the use of certain interrogation techniques --- considered to be torture --- which the administration has allowed in its so-called "War on Terror."

But President Bush vetoed that legislation, saying, "The bill Congress sent me would ... restrict the CIA's range of acceptable interrogation methods to those provided in the Army Field Manual."

In the desire to feel good about our country, countless citizens refuse to objectively examine the suffering caused by certain actions, and lack of action, on the part of the U.S.

Honestly, how can a nation claim greatness when it takes advantage of sweatshop workers, kills unborn babies, gives a tiny fraction of its wealth to the poor, lies to the world, starts wars and tortures human beings?

If American Catholics really want our country to aspire to greatness in every respect, we will zealously work for laws and policies that reflect the Gospel and Catholic social teaching.

And in doing so, we will put the U.S. on the path to truth and wisdom.

Tony Magliano is a columnist with Catholic News Service.