Angela Chininin Buele

Gary Johnson Failed, But Is Our Ignorance Less Appalling?

You see the clip, you hear the gasps, and you think, “Please tell me some of the talking heads will give me some background, a hint, anything so I can figure this out before someone asks ME what Aleppo is.  Was anyone else in that boat?

I watch the news when I have the time, but that might offer more gossip than legitimate journalistic discovery.  I want to know what is going on in the volatile nations around the world, but my abundance often keeps my foc­­us on the homefront.

So, while I will not vote for Gary Johnson (only partially because he could not answer this question), I will take my place in line next to him.  I, too, am ignorant, confused and have the wrong response sometimes.  It is gut-wrenching to see how fickle the herd can be.  One guy doesn’t seem aware of the major crimes against humanity in Syria, and he is on the skewer while another might commit intelligence infractions against our own government and get off the hook.

Allow me to ask you a question.  If you stopped watching the news “shows” (i.e. programs that have tabloid-esque gossip bits and call for social media engagement with their show), and if you only read about people and places around the world, how might your perspective change?  Do you imagine that you would become more or less self-aware?  Would you be more or less interested in snappy tweets and political mud-slinging?

I keep very busy with my volunteer work, my family, my social circles, and all of the overlapping activities therein, which is why I have a news magazine stack (currently 2 deep, with another on the way in a matter of days).  I am so impressed by the quality of journalism and the diversity of topics covered in this publication, but alas, there is no download option to transfer the information to my brain.  So I read until I pass out on the days I get to bed before midnight.  But it’s not easy to keep pace.  And I have a feeling quite a few people are in the same boat.  That being said, we should recognize that we cannot replace the steady educational input of learning about the world with quick injections of what is going on in the world today without our understanding being, at best shortsighted.

Maybe some of you are pro-choice because you operate under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. Maybe you turn away from the graphic pictures you’ve seen of an aborted baby.  Maybe you hid the Center for Medical Progress videos from your newsfeed.  Maybe you were quick to buy the soundbites that were given to you about them.  Maybe you changed the subject with your family member when you found out they were pro-life.

Being under-informed about abortion and using the “women’s healthcare” or “reproductive rights” rhetoric won’t help you when you are asked, “What is abortion?”

Key Question:  Can you identify who or what has the greatest impact on your personal worldview?

Unshakable Truth: “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof; the world and those who dwell therein” (Psalm 24:1).

There is no social agenda, no political movement, and no technological advancement that can outwit or overshadow the One who made it all, and as Maker, He is Ruler of all.  You might despise and reject Him today, but just as we have all seen children gloat in their mischief just to later realize that a parent had seen the disobedience and will call the child to account, we will each face the One who formed us in our mothers’ inmost parts.  There is nothing we can say, do, or believe to invalidate God’s Kingship in the world and in our lives.

The Real Choice:  I suppose there is no other way to say it but, since you can’t beat Him, what keeps you from joining Him?