Saturday, September 26, 2015

In a World Where We can See Everything, We Choose to See Nothing

Over the last year, I’ve blamed several different groups of people for allowing the Islamic State, Boko Haram and other players to systematically annihilate Christianity in Syria, Iraq, North Africa, and other regions of the world. I’ve pointed at the US government, ISIS-sympathizers in the region, Saudi Arabia, the Vatican, and pretty much anyone else with the  power to stop it but the unwillingness to act decisively.

Today, I turn inward. This is my fault. It’s your fault. It’s the fault of all of the millions in western cultures who have chosen to put the attempted Middle East genocide on the backburner of our consciousness so we can focus on other things. It’s not just the petty millions who are more concerned about Taylor Swift’s latest fling or Tom Brady’s amazing touchdown throw. It’s also those who are conscientious of the world but who choose other more “pressing” issues to take over our focus.

While I wrote about the Pope bringing religion into the American political perspective, I should have been pointing out the torturous and sexual persecution that is thriving under the radar.

Before I spent time endorsing Ted Cruz, I should have noted the futile, symbolic efforts by the government to “address” the issues of Christians getting chopped up around the world for pleasure and sport.

I spend hours every day looking at religious and political news. I write for several publications on multiple topics. For this reason, I am to blame as much if not more than others for not doing everything I can to let people know about events like these:

We cannot look to the government to solve these problems. We have to tell them to do so. Looking at how Donald Trump has shifted the political conversation isn’t just based upon his exaggerated personality or strong platform within the media. It’s because people started nodding their heads and wondering the same things.

This needs to be done for Christians in the Middle East and around the world who are persecuted, tortured, raped, enslaved, and murdered. Their homes are burned. Their lands are taken. They are suffering much worse than 99% of what people complain about on social media.

Technology has allowed us to have the greatest and most vivid view of the world that we’ve ever had. The internet is even more important than television because we have control. We can see these things happening. We can share them with our friends, communicate with our leaders, and support the causes that can address them. Unfortunately, this all-the-access-all-the-time age has turned the technology into more of a distraction than a tool for communicating the important issues. In essence, our ability to see everything that we want has limited our view of the things we should be seeing, the stories we should be hearing.

Churches Destroyed in Middle East

If I don’t stop now, this is going to turn into one of my 3000 word posts and the point may be lost. Better to break this up into focused points spread across multiple mediums. This discussion isn’t over. It’s just beginning for me. I hope it begins soon for you as well.

It’s the people who control the sentiment, the sentiment that controls the perspectives in government, and the perspectives that control the actions. Nothing beyond symbolic motions and rhetoric can possibly happen to fix this situation until we let the leaders know that we care about this issue. To help, you first have to make it a priority. I care, now. Do you?



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