As a man who believes in Christ and strives to understand how I process those beliefs in my life, my actions, and my words; I often turn to modern philosophers to help me make sense of things. In my own weakness, I don't always understand scriptures. My faith often falls short. My prayers could be on repeat.
I love to read, think, and write. I often come across gems that strike me as relevant.
One such philosopher who's words captured my young heart, C.S. Lewis, gives me pause. Here is his take, on the atomic age, my additions and emphasis embedded, no disrespect intended.
“In one way we think a great deal too much of the atomic bomb. “How are we to live in an atomic [covid] age?” I am tempted to reply: “Why, as you would have lived in the sixteenth century when the plague visited London almost every year, or as you would have lived in a Viking age when raiders from Scandinavia might land and cut your throat any night; or indeed, as you are already living in an age of cancer, an age of syphilis, an age of paralysis, an age of air raids, an age of railway accidents, an age of motor accidents, an age of disease, an age of fear.”
In other words, do not let us begin by exaggerating the novelty of our situation. Believe me, dear sir or madam, you and all whom you love were already sentenced to death before the atomic bomb was invented: and quite a high percentage of us were going to die in unpleasant ways. We had, indeed, one very great advantage over our ancestors—anesthetics; but we have that still. It is perfectly ridiculous to go about whimpering and drawing long faces because the scientists have added one more chance of painful and premature death to a world which already bristled with such chances and in which death itself was not a chance at all, but a certainty.
This is the first point to be made: and the first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together. If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb [a disease], let that bomb [disease] when it comes find us doing sensible and human things—praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts—not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs [covid]. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that as we already know) but they need not dominate our minds.”
I listened to a panel discussion last night, hosted by our local school district and attended by health officials. There was much kissing of arse, talk of safety first, and of articulating the polarizing nature of these times. Specifically how nothing in this superintendent's experience had been so polarizing.
I've written a bit about enmity. Our enemies, foreign and domestic, will do whatever they may to sow enmity amongst us for that is the only way great civilizations fall. It would be easy to fight an enemy who shows up with horns, hooves, and spitting brimstone. That's not how evil shows up.
Evil shows up well dressed, ties a flaxen cord about our necks, leads us carefully, poisoning by degrees, and sowing fear, doubt, jealousy and hatred.
We don't have to hang on to the hatred and fear that dominates our airwaves and current narratives. We won't likely find leadership in our elected officials. Fear is the mind killer. Hatred pollutes our soul collective.
We have to lead. We can choose unity. We can love one another. We can find common ground, lock arms, and get to work serving one another.
Choose unity. Eschew enmity.
Onward!
Dr. J
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