So, the Hunger Games. I'm a fan. And a couple articles I've read recently describe perfectly why I like them so much - they're gory and graphic at points, yes, but for a purpose:
"In fact, the books communicate an anti-violence message through violence. Collins' editor said that the author brilliantly crafted "a critique of violence using violence to get that across, and that's a fine line." (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/movies/reviews/2012/hungergames.html)
Suzanne Collins blatantly and accurately describes our culture today and the scary direction we're headed. It made me think about how horror movies and creepy killer thrillers continue to come out of Hollywood and only grow more and more perverse. And how people desire violence, and are entertained by it, instead of being disgusted by it. And how my husband's 5th grade students talk about their graphic video games and shooting each other like it's nothing, and how they hit each other as a part of their normal interactions.
"Jennifer Lawrence, who plays the lead role of Katniss Everdeen, described Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy as holding up "a terrible kind of mirror: This is what our society could be like if we became desensitized to trauma and to each other's pain." (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/movies/reviews/2012/hungergames.html?start=1)
It is clear to me that there is much action that needs to be taken by the Church. So many of us shy away from speaking out on important issues because our political and cultural situation is so polarized and messy. We are placed in either the conservative or liberal camp, are labeled Republican or Democrat. And most of us are neither because most of us recognize how distant both views are from the biblical truth we hold to, so most of us just remain quiet at a time when our voice is more important than ever, hoping to stay out of the ugliness of our current political situation.
But I believe it's this shying away by the Church that has in part allowed our culture to get so out of control. The world needs the Church's voice, the voice of Christ, speaking His Truth into its darkness. We must participate, we must use our voice, we must use government as God meant for it be used: as a tool to do His work, to bring His good purposes into this world. We cannot ignore the redemptive force that the institution of government can be. We cannot remain silent and let a certain party or politician use government - as well as the "evangelical block" of voters - for its purposes.
We need to begin to speak more boldly about the cultural issues that are taking our country in such a dangerous direction. The issues that cause divorce, broken families, fatherlessness, increased desire to see violence...it is these issues that produce the anger, rage, and brokeness in the individual that lead to the perpetuated violence and desire for bloodlust.
We need to speak out on these issues, demanding leaders and policies who will help our country turn in a different direction. The more the Church speaks out on these issues, creating programs and advocating for policies that work, the more the government and our culture will listen.
We need to develop after-school programs that teach moralism and character in our schools. We need to teach respect and the importance of non-violence to our kids. As my pastor oftens says, every social movement that has produced lasting change in our country was begun by the Church: women's rights, civil rights, labor rights...it is Christ's revolutionary teachings of love, peace, and justice that truly bring change to our country, because it is knowing Him and follwoing His teachings that speak to the heart, and produce change in the individual person. Christ knew that it was change in the heart of a person, not programs forced on someone by the government, that would produce change. That is why the Church must speak out. We are needed to lead the way. We must bring Christ, show His truths, to truly bring change to individuals, and ultimately our culture. By speaking out in Christ's name, voicing His truths to our culture and our leaders, demanding action that aligns with His teachings, our culture will be affected.
But if we don't begin to speak out and lead the way, I fear the path we are headed down is one toward the world Suzanne Collins created in her books. The desensitivity to death, even to death that right now is the worst kind of evil to us: the death of children. The fascination with watching children fight, the bloodlust, entertainment for some at the cost of the lives of others. The focus on clothes, food, appearance, materialism. The use of entertainment for evil.
"While the outer districts look upon the Games with horror and foreboding, the privileged, spoiled, and ridiculous citizens of the opulent Capitol love every minute—like we worship football or any given reality show. To them, these deaths are only a good show...Like many good sci-fi fables, Hunger Games says a lot about us: our voyeuristic culture, the tempering distraction of mindless entertainment, the balance of compassion and self-preservation, the interconnectivity of the haves and have-nots, hope and fear as controlling agents, and children's loss of innocence." (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/movies/reviews/2012/hungergames.html?start=2)
That world, as creepy as it is, is not far off from what I see around me now. And unless the Church leads the way and boldly brings Christ and his Truths into our politics and culture, I fear we will continue down this path.
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