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Now that is a sobering blog title. It sounds ominous, somber and
depressing. My intent with this blog has
always been to celebrate the agrarian way of life, honoring my God, and
reminiscing about ‘antique virtues and values” that seem to be going the way of
the dodo bird and the woolly mammoth.
Journaling a collection of my oftentimes rambling and jumbled thoughts has always been
therapeutic to me.
I have always striven to avoid the mention of politics in
this medium and, although I certainly have opinions, I aim to continue
that. I read an article in the Wall
Street Journal a couple of weeks ago that has stuck with me, marinating in my
subconsciousness and I’d like to talk about it a little today. The article, I think, contains a powerful
feeling that can be felt by all political stripes, including Democrats,
Republicans, Republicrats, Democans, Elephants, Donkeys, and Elephonkeys
alike. The article was written by Peggy
Noonan. I grew up in the 1980’s and
remember her as a speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan.
The article I’m speaking of is one entitled, “That moment
when 2016 hits you” and can be found by clicking this link: The Moment When 2016 Hits You
Here are a few excerpts from the article:
‘I felt a wave of sadness,’ said one friend. This year’s
politics have that effect on a lot of Americans.
Another political veteran, my friend John, also had his
Moment during the New Hampshire primary. Out door-knocking for Jeb Bush, “I was struck as I walked along a neighborhood using
the app that described the voters in each house. So many multigenerational
families of odd collections of ages in houses with missing roof shingles or
shutters askew or paint peeling. Cars needing repair.” What was the story inside those houses?
Unemployment, he thought, elder care, divorce, custody battles. “It was easy
to see a collective loss of hope in a once-thriving town.” He sensed
“years of neglect and sadness. Something is brewing.”
Okay, it’s me again.
You see the underlined portion of the verbiage below? I look around and see the same thing. Of course there are exceptions to this. There are plenty of people who have secure
jobs, all the trappings of material success, and seem, at least from the
outside, to be genuinely happy and optimistic.
But there is a large portion of the populace that feels that their best
days are behind them, that the potential of having a better standard of living
than the generations before them is out of reach. Incomes are stagnant if not dropping. Layoffs have forced people into jobs for
which they are overqualified for and underpaid.
When things break, they don’t get repaired OR people get
themselves further into debt. I
researched Americans’ indebtedness and discovered that as of May 2016, the
average American household credit card debt is $5,700. But when you exclude those households that
pay their credit cards off in full at the end of each month, the average credit
card debt for these households is $16,048! Here's the supporting link: Americans in Debt
People see no way out.
At Our Maker’s Acres Family Farm, we live in rural America where the
major industries are agriculture and the oil patch. The economic outlook isn’t particularly
rosy. Maybe things are better in your
“neck of the woods?”
In a related vein, I read that April 2016 marked the
twelfth straight month of record gun sales.
More and more people are taking classes for their concealed handgun
license. I checked Smith & Wesson
stock on Google Finance and saw that its stock price has appreciated 556.8%
over the past 5 years. Smith & Wesson Stock Chart
People are scared.
You can feel it. Fellow citizens
medicate themselves to numb their senses to the situations they find themselves
in. We keep ourselves busy as we
frenetically rush about at a pace that would rival that of a hummingbird – so
busy we don’t pause to think, or enjoy the simple pleasures such as a sunrise
or sunset or stars on a crisp fall evening.
We don’t soak in and relish the gentle evening breeze while swinging under
the boughs of an oak tree or under the front porch. Most importantly, we don’t pray to our
Creator and request His guidance, His wisdom, His deliverance from our
hopelessness, our bondage, or our fears.
Back to Ms. Noonan’s article. She finished it up like this:
And a sob welled up and I literally put my hands to my face
and sobbed, silently, for I suppose a minute.
Because my country is in trouble.
Because I felt anguish at all the estrangements.
Because some things that shouldn’t have changed have
changed.
You’ll feel better the next day, I promise, but you won’t
be able to tell yourself that this is history as usual anymore. This is big,
what we’re living through.
Because too much is being lost.
She is a great writer.
I remember her speech as given by President Ronald Reagan after the
Challenger Space Shuttle Disaster back in 1986.
I remember watching it while at college.
I remember in it, the President directly spoke to school children and
encouraged the nation, despite the loss, to keep moving forward,
advancing. I remember feeling encouraged
even in the midst of great sorrow. Ms.
Noonan’s Wall Street Journal article doesn’t leave me with such encouragement
about the future. Nor does it give a
roadmap out.
Yes, our country is in trouble. Yes, a lot has changed and a lot is being
lost. Yes, I am sad about the
predicament that our country is in and the trajectory of our future, and I
suppose I mourn about it most because I think our wounds are largely self-inflicted. But, I’ll tell you this. All is not lost, and I won’t succumb to fear
of the future and I certainly will not lose hope.
On the subject of fear, hopelessness, and despair, my God
tells me in Joshua 1:9:
Have I
not commanded you? Be strong and
courageous! Do not tremble or be
dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
There is no strong man or strong woman that can save
us. Only God. We’re not in this alone. Our hearts should not be troubled. Families on bended knee, shoulder to shoulder
in communities across our land need to repent and humbly fix our eyes upon Him. It is only then when believers can see
healing and restoration. If we have a
“collective loss of hope,” we need to turn to the God of Hope who tells us in
Romans 15:13:
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