With everything going on in this country, it is very easy to be "black-pilled" or filled with despair and hopelessness. Who wants to be around someone who's always complaining and bitching about everything? What fun is that? Sometimes it's understandable though, because there is no shortage of news that helps fuel this:
Dehumanization of the "unvaccinated" (See this too)
'Parental Rights' getting challenged by statist idiots
The ACLU thinks mandating vaccinations "further civil liberties" 🙄 What a joke of an organization.
Never ending restrictions/mandates/lockdowns from governments (Especially in Australia!)
Race-baiting lunatics who see racism everywhere they look
Censorship and "fact checking" that have reached levels of absurdity
The relentless propaganda about vaccinations
I can go on and on, but you get the point. Everywhere we look it's doom & gloom. It's very easy to fall into this trap of complaining. I do it all the time. The world is going crazy in real time and someone needs to point this stuff out. We'd all go crazy otherwise, thinking it's only us who see this nonsense. The problem is that it's a very hopeless and inevitable feeling. It makes it seem like our efforts are futile and pointless. And if this is all our day consists of, it ultimately leads to dark places that we don't want to go down.
Instead, I'm going to focus on some things that give me hope.
1) Every major institution in this country, from K-12 schooling, colleges, local/state/federal governments, most courts, the Federal Reserve, movie & music industries, social media companies, and much of corporate America are all culturally controlled by the left. This is undeniably the case.
So, why does this give me hope? Because it can't get much worse! What else can they take over...the church? Oh wait, that's already halfway complete too! The pendulum will eventually swing back the other way. At some point there will be a backlash against the authoritarianism that is destroying lives and relationships across the country. And I'll be there knowing I'm on the right side of history advocating for individual freedom.
There's some hope that this can happen quickly. This old joke was true for me: What's the difference between a minarchist and an anarchist? About 6 months. That's absolutely what happened to me.
Politicians in states like California (which is basically controlled by democrats from top to bottom) are not fixing the problems they got elected to solve. Instead, they're making the problems much worse. Eventually, people will want to try something different. That's why this recall of their governor is interesting. It will likely fail, but it's at least a sign of things changing. (in California of all places!) This doesn't mean Republicans are the answer, far from it. But maybe, just maybe, these folks are willing to hear completely different points of view and "off-limit" ideas. This is where libertarian voices need to be principled and get our ideas out there to a receptive public.
2) There is a healthy distrust of media. If you trust the corporate press after living through 2020-2021, then I don't know what to tell you. The media has done such tremendous damage to this country. It's hard to overstate how terrible and evil that industry is. They're nothing but lapdogs to those in power. More and more people are coming to this realization.
3) First-time gun buyers increased substantially in 2020-2021. I take this to mean that people are not reliant on the government to protect themselves. Instead, they're taking responsibility for their own safety. The less reliant people are on the government for anything, the better.
4) There is a sizeable backlash against vaccine passports, universal masking, etc. Fauci says a third vaccine dose is "likely" for Americans to "enjoy the privileges of the freedoms" of being fully vaccinated. I believe many people begrudgingly took the vaccine to "get back to normal". And that obviously did not happen. Now, they'll be asked to take another shot (possibly every 5 months!) - there HAS to be some pushback against this. I've already seen some people refuse to take another shot, so I'll be interested in how that plays out. How much more of this can people take?
5) There are platforms that will be increasingly difficult to censor. Decentralized websites, cryptocurrencies and encrypted messaging are all thorns in the side to those in power. Despite the government's best efforts, these platforms have real promise. Also, the affordability of 3D printers and the ability to cheaply print lower receivers and frames will help curb tyrannical gun control policies. All of this is encouraging.
But, let's forget about all of that! Even if I'm wrong about ALL of this, we have something much better to look forward to. We have an eternal hope!
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 reads:
"Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words."
So, that's what I'm trying to do! Encourage others with these words. I have much to be thankful for, and much to look forward to.
Romans 15:13 reads:
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
I need to constantly remind myself of this, because it's so easy to get drug into the daily cycle of depressing news. Don't get me wrong, I'll still bring these things to light, (get upset) and try to fight it. Of course. I just need to take it all with a grain of salt.
Let's not lose sight of the bigger picture.
I agree. Honestly, my Christian-Faith plays a big role in that.