Brenda’s Blog – July 27, 2021
George Orwell and Aldous Huxley are well-quoted these days for their prescient writings predicting a world and a worldview unlike our comfortable all-American lifestyle.
Interestingly enough, the first glimmers of “Big Brother” and “Animal Farm thinking” startled us. We vehemently protested the loss of privacy, freedoms, and personal liberties. We challenged those who espoused central control. That lasted for a while.
Slowly the older ones have moved out of leadership – and even moved on to their eternal resting place, taking with them their resistance to the new thinking. The younger generations are acclimated to a changing economic, moral, and political environment accepting the changes and consequences with much greater poise.
The other day I thought “we have moved from Orwell to Oh-well.” Acceptance of monitoring, limiting, and determining is more common. The recognition that privacy is an outdated, outmoded concept results in a shrug and sigh when one of us “older ones” argues for the rights of personal thoughts, property, and activities.
Central to this shift is the masterful use of crises. We eagerly give up our freedoms when faced with life threatening situations. Normally, we deal with stressful events by allowing them to resolve. Those who want control must constantly create fear in order to lubricate the process of liberty removal. The shelf life (or media cycle) of a normal event isn’t enough to throw us totally off guard. Instead, as one begins to wane another must take its place, keeping us off balance and even more willing to accept the unacceptable.
In times of disequilibrium Christians can pause to assess, evaluate, and remember “in times like these we have a Savior.” And in these very troubled times we have an “anchor which grips the solid rock” (Jesus Christ).