The Question of Government and Mankind's Future

I was going to write on another topic today, but having just seen the incredible new Nolan film, Insterstellar, I believe I will write on a topic that relates to that film. Fear not—I shall not spoil the film for you! Today we'll be discussing government and human prosperity.

The role of government is a highly debated one. You have some that want as little government involvement as possible and some that want government regulation of everything. For the most part, we see this reflected in commerce and social policy. What is the underlying goal of government, though? Does government exist to make the everyday life of its citizens more comfortable today? Or is there a greater purpose to government? Does it exist to further mankind as a whole, ensuring not only the survival of the human race for generations to come but the thriving of our great, great grandchildren? Most great feats of mankind are accomplished by large numbers of people working together for a common goal. One of these next great feats might be galactic colonization.

One of my greatest disappointments is that I will never live to see mankind spread out amongst the stars and make this galaxy our own. Movies such as Star Wars and Titan AE and now Interstellar have captured my imagination of where mankind might go when space travel is available to all and is as common as air travel is for us today. What might life look like on the moon? Mars? In different solar systems or even galaxies? I love just thinking about these things and letting my imagination run wild.

But maybe mankind will never make it to this point. Maybe our tendency to think only of ourselves or those around us will ultimately bring us to our doom. Maybe some disease will wipe out the population of the earth. Maybe wars. Maybe some sort of natural disaster. What should government do about our flourishing as a species? Should government ensure mankind is on a path that will lead to survival? People certainly don’t seem to think so today. We run our governments absolutely ragged in our attempts at comfort. We constantly don’t want to be dictated by “the man” and demand our own ability to make choices, often despite good evidence that we shouldn’t be allowed to do so.

A government solely devoted to the preservation of the human race would be very different from the one we know. Take a moment to imagine with me. Likely there would be strict health requirements. Certainly reproduction would be highly regulated. Schooling would take priority over almost everything, especially fun and socialization. In fact, “fun” would not have much place in this society. People would be assigned roles in society, working as a small part of a much larger system. Government would be involved in every facet of your life. But a hundred or even a thousand years down the line (assuming this system was never upset) would likely show an incredible amount of progress.

How comfortable would you be with this? Chances are you would be working for the comfort and advancement not of yourself or possibly even for your children. You would be working to advance everyone now and a hundred years from now. This sounds like a harsh and unrewarding life, but it embodies a mindset of "we." We made it into space. We colonized another galaxy. We survived. Maybe the extreme picture I painted isn’t the ideal or maybe you think it is. I think we could be doing a lot more for future generations, though. Some sacrifices we make today might make the lives of those who come after us a bit easier. There are even actions we can take today that will help others today as a nation or as a private citizen.

What do you guys think? Should government help to guarantee the safety and prosperity of future generations or should it merely focus itself on the present? Is it the jobs of private individuals to move mankind forward or should it be legislated?

Why the US is Like Justin Bieber and How Politicians Treat Us as Such

     I think I am joined with the vast majority of the world in thinking that Justin Bieber is a spoiled brat in need of a serious life-adjustment.  Now, fear not, dear readers, that is where my topic switches from pop culture to politics and things that are actually interesting.  Today we will be discussing the tendency of Americans to vote based upon the promised "candy" that politicians offer rather than the competency of their characters.

     What do we know about spoiled brats like Justin Bieber?  They want stuff and they want it now.  They'll come to you demanding what they want and if you refuse them, they will simply turn to someone else.  They'll stamp their feet and make a scene until what they want happens.  They'll point the finger to others when their poor plans inevitably crumble to the ground and demand it be fixed just the way it was, only to have the process repeat.  

     Now turn your eyes to the American voters: a very loud and demanding group, they ask their politicians to promise all manner of idiotic minutiae.  They demand rising candidates to do something for them once they elect them to office.  Just look at all the things that Obama, ever the malleable people-pleaser, was forced to promise to ensure his election into presidency.  So long as the promised treat is sweet enough, people are willing to forgive all manner of inadequacies in their presidential candidates.  The ironic thing is that all of these promises are rarely kept.  They turn from us and forget to give the promised candy, so we whine and turn to the next candidate to promise a sweet treat.  

     Anyone familiar with political terminology will know that a lot of the time, usually in the case of state representatives, this is referred to as "pork-barreling."  Politicians provide benefits to their own states, usually as the result of some sort of campaign promise or at least a treat for the voting constituents back home, in some sort of round-about or underhanded manner.  Millions of taxpayer dollars are wasted monthly just to sate the appetite of the sugar-hungry voters.  And, of course, the voters love it!  More candy!  Vote them back into office and get more!  There's nothing better than lots of candy, right?

     All of you will know (likely from a parent's lecture during the Halloween season or possibly from experience) that a lot of candy is not good for the body.  It tastes really good, but it quietly erodes at our teeth and forms a poor mix in our stomachs.  We need food of some sort of nutritional substance!  We need fruits, vegetables, grains, and all those nasty things we hate to eat.  The same goes for our government.  We've been asking for candy for so long that we are really seeing the effects of this on our government.  We're not looking for intelligent leaders who can turn the country's problems around, we're looking for those who can make us comfortable while the nation crumbles all around us.  We're asking for jelly beans at a time we need to be asking for real beans.  We're asking for orange slices when we should be demanding oranges.  We're asking for answers to unimportant social issues when the very cornerstones of our nation are allowed to enter catastrophic levels of failure.

     So please, fellow Americans, look to the well-being of your nation.  Stop behaving like Justin Bieber and demanding stupid things from your leaders.  Grow up and eat some vegetables. 

The World Doesn't Know How to Not Grow Up

     Today I make my [triumphant?] return to the blogging world!  I've been thinking about this one for a while now, so I hope everyone likes it.

     Not to long ago, as I rode in the car, I was introduced to new song by Avril Lavigne called "Here's to Never Growing Up."  This song helped to open my eyes to a topic that lies at the heart of many of the problems of the world today.  You see, in the chorus, miss Lavigne sings an anthem of:

  

           We'll be running down the street, yelling "Kiss my %#$!"

          I'm like yeah whatever, we're still living like that.
          When the sun's going down, we'll be raising our cups,
          Singing, here's to never growing up.

To me, this is a really narrow and infantile view of what it means to never grow up.  To me this is a disgraceful twisting of an idea that holds so much beauty.  

Never Growing Up

     Certainly, I can agree with miss Lavigne that to be irresponsible, careless, and disrespectful is very immature, I part with her in the desirability of this.  We can all know that kids are definitely this way at times, but we can also know that there is a certain magic about being a child and seeing the world through the eyes of a child--magic that is not found in drinking all night and partying all day.  In fact, I might posit that rather than desiring to retain that magic, miss Lavigne rather does not want to have to be an adult.  

     This is an epidemic in US society, for Avril Lavigne is not alone in this mindset.  Everywhere I see the pathetic man-children that movies so love to portray.  I see the kind of people that never learned to work with others because of their own arrogance.  People that refuse to be adults and instead go to their chosen security blanket, be it drinking, video games, TV, drugs, or any other of the plethora of things that we run to to distract us.  We see the effects of immature adults everywhere: in the failing of families, in the half-witted political fights on Facebook, and in the way we treat the symptoms rather than the actual problems of society.  Then there are others who have resigned themselves to the "ways of the world."  

     Equally responsible for the state of the world, those who have given up on changing the world.  These people look back on the "good ol' days" and spend their time hoping the world might eventually go back to what it once was.  Maybe in their past they made genuine change, or at least strove for it, but now they separate themselves from the world that they once tried to save.  They watch with a passionless look of disinterest as the world tears itself apart in its own ignorance of its peril.  These people wait for the embrace of death to part them from their problems.

Learning to Fly

      Now comes the part where I use a movie to communicate a point.  This time, the movie is Hook.  Note: maybe some minor spoilers ahead, but nothing you wouldn't be able to predict from seeing the movie's trailer.  Hook is the story of Peter Pan after he left Neverland.  Having lived in the normal world for a while now, he's grown older and started his own family.  We come in on a Peter that has forgotten what is important in life.  He ignores his kids and wife and spends all his time at work.  Peter too has gone to the comfortable embrace of his own security blanket: work.  Over the course of his adventure to save his kids, Peter realizes that he has lost track of what is important in life and that he has grown up in the wrong way.

     

     Many of us, like Peter, have chosen to grow up in the wrong way--we're doing adult-y things but we're not handling them responsibly or taking the time to understand them.  We have been harmed by the world, so we choose to ignore it.  The problems around us seem insurmountable, so we run from them to find easier problems.  We given in to the idea that life is just a big, monotonous cycle to be squeezed of all the personal enjoyment as much as possible.  The world nor the people in it are not magical in our eyes.  They are husks the same as us, waiting for time to pass us by.  

     So when I say I never want to grow up it is this: I never want to lose the imagination of a child.  The excitement of a child when he sees what a beautiful and awesome world we live in.  The passion of a child when he sees something he wants to stand up for.  I never want to stand down and let the evil present in this world run me down.  I want to look out over a crowd of people and see individuals, each with their own life and personality and reason for breathing another day.  I want to stare down the problems the world throws at me and combat them with my dying breath.  This is what I mean by never growing up.  May the magic never leave your eyes.  

Backseat Tyrants

     The title of today's blog is not the name of a new punk band (to my knowledge, anyway).  Sorry for the disappointment.  Today I address the Facebook loudmouths who call for the impeachment of Obama.  Today I address those who call for the downfall of the "tyranny of government."  Today I address those who refuse to learn or consider things from a different perspective.  (Also, I realize this is a Sunday-ish blog, but it is not centered around a faith topic today--sorry to the none of you who are disappointed!) 

The Burden of Leadership

     Most of those who have never held true power in their hands have no idea what it means to be in leadership.  Even the most abusive of leaders can hold that power complicates matters, and the more power, the more complication.  Not all of mankind are quipped to be leaders of men--especially leaders of many men.  No matter what you have to say about politicians, there is a very real reason that they hold a position of authority.  Those of you who are convinced that politicians sit around in an office all day, playing solitaire on their computers, and accomplishing nothing in general hold wildly incorrect views of government.  These are men and women who work nearly all their waking hours.  If they are not catching up on new bills, they are meeting in committees or working on forwarding their own policies or coordinating with the press or interacting with messages from their constituents or a million other responsibilities they find sitting on their desk bright and early the next morning.  Power is not fun and those that have fun with power often find they truly have none.

     Observe with me the case of a class assignment: the teacher assigns each student into a group of five to complete a large assignment.  In the majority of cases, each group will find itself being led by a reluctant leader--increasingly more reluctant if the task requires each member to be assigned a specific task.  You see, no one likes to be the one to make people do things they don't want to do.  No one wants to have that extra responsibility of keeping track of the others' progress.  A true leader with real power performs many extra tasks upon the normal work load and has the added heat of being the scapegoat everyone points to when something goes wrong.

     True, some have the natural ability of leadership, but they too do not always enjoy the mantle of power.  So many times I have heard people complaining about how they were tired of being the leader.  In the adult world, though, leaders are not often given the choice of leadership in their jobs.  It is lead or leave.  And so we find ill-equipped leaders falling by the wayside, burned out by the constant uphill climb that power brings.  Not all are set aside for the task of leadership.

The Backseat Tyrant

     We all are familiar with the tendency of people to yell at their TV during sporting events, directing their heated (and useless) comments at the straw man coaches.  It is both a ridiculous stereotype and an annoying reality.  It is also a symptom of ignorance.  All of these screen-scolders have never had time coaching professional sports (I feel comfortable in this assessment--quite comfortable), but assume themselves to be qualified to correct those who hold arguably the highest positions in their field (pun unintended--but welcomed).  You might compare these situations to someone who has flown a plane on a video game attempting to instruct an air force ace on the basics of flight.

     Take these examples to the realm of politics.  A disappointingly small number of people have some manner of knowledge of how government works.  My Facebook feed is a near-constant source of humor as nearly every one of my "friends" attempt some sort of political commentary.  Various calls to "impeach the president" have lost their humor for me and become a source of disappointment and frustration--seriously people, learn the vocab!  You mean "recall!"  Nearly every American presumes to know how the government should be run and yet we still have problems.  Funny how such a vast source of reasonable knowledge fails to conjure up the solution to the problems of the U.S. government (sarcasm, for those of you who don't know me too well).  Feel foolish for a moment before saying something, that you might save yourself some foolishness in front of others. And remember: those people you seek to correct likely know what they're doing.

The Squirming Underling

     It is uncomfortable to be led, especially when the groups being governed are vast numbers of people.  Not everyone agrees.  In fact, few people agree with me.  And so I often find myself in a minority--on the losing side of majority politics.  No decision will ever be thought of as a good by everyone.  When leading thousands, you make a hundred enemies with every word you speak.  No one wants to be on the losing side; no one wants to be set aside for the satisfaction of the majority.  In group-voting situations amongst small groups of twenty or so, I feel myself getting angry with those that vote differently than me.  Why should they agree with anything but my own opinion?  While I leave as the losing side, I can respect a system that aims to satisfy its constituents.  

     In the same way, I can appreciate the decisions of the leaders who are positioned in government.  In consideration of a million different variables, these men and women have to find solutions to problems that have none.  While I may not always agree with the decisions of these men and women, my first response is not to go crying on the internet.  Sometimes I just have to consider the fact that they know something that I don't; that they have wisdom that I do not; that they are a heck of a lot smarter than I am, especially when it comes to politics.  At the end of the day, I have the ability to have my say in government and Facebook is not it.  If I am unhappy I can tell someone who can do something about it.  If I want someone else to lead me, I can vote and campaign for them.  There are a millions ways of having your say in government, if you have the will to speak up.

      All of this is to say, "Shut up and think," and "Don't like it?  DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT."  The world will not change just because you had a hissy-fit on Facebook.  Also, if you want to be a part of the solution rather than another complainer who does nothing for the betterment of the world, you should aim to learn about what you want to fix.  If you refuse to learn, shut up.  Seriously.        

First-World Christianity

     Having worked in a variety of different work situations, I have had a lot of insight as to the work ethic of the average person.  There are almost always going to be those who slack on the job and fail to invest any amount of effort into their work.  Enter what I'm calling the First-World Christian: he is an excellent student of the Word, likely a leader in the Church in some capacity, probably leads his own Bible study, and in general looks like a so-called "super-Christian."  At his regular job, though, we see a different person.  He grows impatient with the menial tasks given to him and likely considers his job to be below him.  He claims to think it is a misuse of time that might be better spent studying the Word or sharing the Gospel or doing other things "real Christians" should be doing.  Though he works with non-Christians in his work place, they likely have been placed under the category of "Not My Problem" or "Unreachable."  To the First-World Christian, the work of God is done pure through the work of the functions of the Church.  

A Weak Showing

     I am constantly baffled by those that surround me in the workplace.  Now, this is not to say that all those with whom I work are slackers, but there are several individuals who show their true colors in shoddy workmanship and spotty attendance.  Now, especially in this generation, it is not uncommon for people to be bad workers, but what irritates me the most is when those lazy workers claim to be empowered by the God of the universe.  How dare you claim to be strengthened by God, when you shrug off the slightest of burdens before they even have time to settle on your shoulders?  Surely the God who, on countless occasions, used the weakest of a group to perform the greatest of tasks.  Was not Gideon, the mighty warrior of God, considered to be the weakest of the weak?  

     These workers who openly declare Christ do far more damage to the visible image of God (Christians) than they can ever remedy through the work of the Church.  In emphasizing their work in the Church, they have neglected their role in loving and ministering to the world.  

Work as a Mission

     As Christians working in the world alongside those who do not share our beliefs, we hold a considerable amount of power in how they view Christ.  Those non-Christians who commonly rub shoulders with First-World Christians understandably view Christians as sanctimonious and arrogant.  Those who work with Christians who are constantly a benefit to their workplace either have a good view of Christians or at least have nothing bad to say about them.  Do we not have such a great opportunity to witness to others in the good work we do and the care we show in our actions?  I took on a class called Theology of Work and the theme that was underlying in every single message was this: there is no sacred/secular dichotomy.  Meaning the work we do for the Church directly is no more holy or ordained than the work we do for McDonalds.  So long as we are working for the right purpose, we are working in the service of the Lord.  "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31).

      So, Christians, I beg of you: treat your work like God commanded you to do it.  Don't forget about it and skip it in favor of churchy things, because that is not what God wants.  God commands us to work and to work well.  So go out and make a good impression.  Go out and save a life.               

You Are the Fire of God

     There always seems to be an unstated question (or often actually stated) in regards to reading the Bible, especially the Old Testament, and looking at the world today.  This question is, why doesn't God bring down a pillar of fire for all to see like He did for Elijah?  Why doesn't God send plagues of grand proportion to nations that displease Him as He did with Egypt?  Why does God not act in such visible ways as to inspire His followers into acts of admirable courage and devotion?  

The Way it Used to Be

     There is a bit of mistake in thinking that God acted constantly and always visibly "back then."  In fact, most of the big miracles God performs are separated by hundreds of years.  A worldwide flood, splitting rivers, and fire falling from heaven did not all happen within the lifetime of a single man.  The Israelites sometimes passed through several generations before another big miracle happened.  Just as we sometimes feel alone and abandoned by God today, so often did the Israelites--and often they were in much more dire situations.  The fact is that often enough people were able to reason in their own minds His absence from or His ambivalence towards the world.  They too did not always recognize the actions of God in the world.

Is God Really Working?

     The reason we often do not see the work of God as plain and obvious is because we look for that fire in the sky.  However, in searching for these signs, we will always be disappointed.  It seems that instead God prefers to work through people.  Instead of sending down a bolt of lightning to scare someone into belief, He sends a person to communicate with another.  He sets people in our path that we have the opportunity to aid or to learn from.  He sends people to give us hope and He sends them to give us direction.  God loves more than anything to work through us to accomplish His will.  He sends us to be His hands and feet in the world.  Not because He is incapable of acting (He could easily accomplish what He wanted to Himself, like when He struck down more enemies in a battle than the Israelites did ... using hailstones) but because He loves to work though us.  We are the fire that God sends to the earth--the fire that compels others to believe in Him and serve Him.  

Being the Fire

     So what does this mean?  This means we work to be the salt and light of the world.  Interact with others.  Help where you can and learn where you can't.  Don't be so set in your ways as to ignore wisdom when it is set before you.  Pray.  Read the Word daily.  Be a follower of Christ.  Christ lit the world on fire with His actions.  We should aim to do the same.

Make of "The Man"

     As I missed my last two posting dates (I was out of town, apologies), I figured I might pick up with the same theme of "The Man" for this post.  I believe this will be my last blog on this topic.  For now at least.

     

Watson - "People don't have arch-enemies."

Sherlock - "What?"

W - "In real life.  People don't have arch-enemies."

S - "That sounds a bit dull.  So what do people have in their real lives?"

W - "Friends, people they like, people they don't like, boyfriends, girlfriends ..."

 S - "Like I said, dull."

     I wanted to start with this bit of conversation from the BBC show Sherlock (which I highly recommend if you have not seen it yet).  This quote relates a lot to our topic of today.  Now, I would have to place myself somewhat in disagreement with Dr. Watson in his claim, but I will explain later that I also agree with him in a manner. 

An Enemy to Oppose

     In life, we all strive to find meaning.  Some people find meaning in their work, some in their faith, some in adventure, some in their relationships, and there are a million other ways that people find meaning.  The most simple way of finding meaning in one's life, however, is in adversity.  

     Just think: how easy is it to be the defender of something you love?  How quickly do you jump to the defense of those things you invest your time into at the slightest inkling of attack?  To be the defender of a cause makes one important, if only in their mind.  The cause might seem menial and worthless to one but to another it is a cause to die for.  Those that rush to the defense of a cause often make a caricature of their enemy.  They become twisted picture of all the things that are evil in the world.  Sometimes they are a single person or, more often, they take the shape of an organization or group.  

     Some go as far as to take it personally.  This self-made antagonist to their life story exists for the destruction of them, the hero of the tale.  And like Don Quixote they sally forth from their home to engage in mortal combat against an enemy like whom the world has never known.  In finding a cause to defend, people find an enemy to oppose and a meaning to their brief existence.

An Imaginary Mantle

     How often are specific people displayed under a single light in the world of the media?  Almost always a single source will apply a few strong traits to the characters they display for the simplicity of their information.  In a similar way, we tend to only apply a few traits to those that we have little access to.  For example, an increasing number of people apply simply "dumb" to their image of President Obama.  Now, these traits we apply to people may be true or not (as it is in this case - few dullards make it far in the realm of politics).  It seems somewhat ironic, though, that often people will characterize their personal arch-nemesis as lesser than themselves though they will ultimately fail their quest as it was impossible from the start.  The Obama that most criticize holds no position in reality.  He simply does not exist.  And thus we find most people living their lives fighting phantoms.  They swing their swords at enemies that exist only in their mind while others look on like they are crazy or foolish.  As we discussed in my previous blog, those that we place as our enemies rarely deserve the hatred directed towards them.

     And here I want to leave you to question those empty causes you might champion.  While it is healthy and good to have those things that you enjoy and stand up for, do not do so at the cost of another.  This is the problem that we face in the US: we stand ready to die for every last menial cause while those causes that matter find themselves without the necessary defenders.  Go and find meaning in your life, but make that meaning have meaning.