Americas’ Newest Biggest Fear
Peoples’ biggest fears used to be things like public speaking, heights and bugs. It seems like for a large percentage of Americans there is a new fear that has overtaken all others. This fear explodes inside of people and causes them to muster all of the passion they possess to stand up, speak out and demand that it be kept away from their community. This fear grips entire communities and shifts the focus of their everyday lives into a united, collective army to fight this fear. Like most things we fear, this fear is not based on present reality.
The power of money is well documented. The Wu-Tang-Clan may have my favorite presentation of the power of money in their song, C.R.E.A.M. (cash rules everything around me). This song is expressing what we have all heard; that money makes the world go around. The bible even says that money is the root of all kinds of evils (1 Timothy 6:10). Money may be the root of all kinds of evils and it may be the motivating factor in how our fallen world operates, but money doesn't make the world go around and money doesn't rule everything around me.
Of course Jesus is the giver of life, abundant life and eternal life, but naturally speaking it is not money that makes the world go around, it is story. The stories that we are told, the stories that we tell and the stories that we believe are moving and shaping our world. Stories are powerful because they capture the attention of our mind. They are what we understand and they are what we remember. Nearly every aspect of our lives revolve around story. Believers believe in the story of Jesus and dedicate our lives to living according to that story. We entertain ourselves through story. Movies, TV Shows, Sports, Podcasts, Books and on and on and on are all about stories. We raise our families based on stories of tradition, inspiration or education. We work, at least in part, because of the story of the American Dream of a house with a white picket fence a spouse and 2 1/2 kids. In the political world, it is said that if you are explaining you are losing. In other words, the one telling the best story is usually the one winning. In the business world, the best storytellers are the best sellers.
Stories can be immensely powerful. Jesus nearly exclusively taught the crowds with a story. The Bible is said to be "the Greatest Story Ever Told". A story about a faithful follower of Jesus can inspire faith in a person that can greatly advance God's Kingdom. A story to illustrate a spiritual truth can change the mindset and direction of a person's eternity.
The power of story is not limited to the power of good. The power of story also extends into the power of evil. There was a story that satan told Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden that brought sin, death and disease into our world. There was a story that Adolf Hitler told that brought mass murder to an entire geographical location. There is a story that America has been telling since its inception that has brought murder, rape, slavery, oppression, segregation, destruction, degradation and so much more!
The latest story that is being told is a story of fear, lies and power. The story being told is actually fascinating. The story also has very skilled storytellers. The story is about the devastating effects of a second story. The fascinating part of the story is that this second story is not even being told! This latest story is all about creating fear of a second story that is not even being told.
Several years ago there was a lot of hype about a movie called, "The Blair Witch Project." The Blair Witch Project was about some film makers going hiking looking for a witch. The movie was supposed to be like a documentary and the story ends with the film makers disappearing. Supposedly the movie was made because the film makers equipment was found a year after their disappearance.
As I watched that movie, I thought it would have been better categorized as a comedy rather than a horror movie. Obviously, these film makers did not actually disappear and Blair Witch is a fictional character. The story was so good surrounding this movie, that many people believed this story was real. Their belief in the truth of the story sparked fear in all who believed it!
The latest story being told to us is much like the Blair Witch Project. It is a story about something that has not happened, but if you believe it, it can cause real fear. It is a compelling story that some see as a scary reality and others see as a ridiculous fictional story. Those that were afraid of the Blair Witch, simply needed to avoid the movie theater, the mountains, and the woods, however those who fear this latest story are in fear for their lives and their children's lives.
Here is where the power portion of the story comes into play. Those who believe this new story are not really afraid that they will lose their life, they are afraid that they will lose their way of life. This latest story is an attempt to ensure that they do not lose the power, prestige and privilege (I know that is a buzz word and I may have just lost you with that one, but stick with me!) that they have lived in.
So the story is a fictional story that creates a fear of the loss of power, and it is a good one. It is well written. It is well told. It is extremely effective. People are willing to make a fool of themselves, stomp on other people's experiences and emotions, and even fund this fictional story because they believe it. For many people, even (maybe even especially smh) Christians, are more passionate about this story than anything else in their lives. People are more adamantly defending this story more than they defend their faith. They are more vocal about this story than they are their faith. They are funding this story more than they are funding Christian ministry.
Herschel Walker recently told this story at a Trump Rally. Herschel told this story in what looks like the ultimate validation of the story. A famous black man telling this story is the final validation that some need to be able to say, "look, even black men/women know this story." By the way, that is the equivalent of claiming to understand an entire people group or culture because you know one person in that group. I know Herschel Walker is not the first, nor the only, black person to tell this story, but his telling of the story is SO fitting! The reason that his telling of the story is so fitting is because Herschel Walker did what most do when they tell this story: they get it wrong.
In Herschel Walker's story, he tells the story about the second story but he calls the second story, CTR instead of the correct acronym of CRT. This story about the evil of CRT (Critical Race Theory) is a fictional story that creates the fear of the loss of power. The story goes something like this, "The liberal left-wing Democrats in this country are teaching my kids that being white makes them racist. They want my kids to be hated, bullied and punished. They are creating division, segregation and racism. Finally, we should all just continue to not see color."
Most of the people that are talking about CRT are talking about it with the same level of knowledge about it as Herschel Walker. The people may know the correct acronym, however the other mistakes are too numerous to name them all in this blog. Most people talking about CRT do not even know what it is, nor what it teaches. Like Herschel Walker, they clearly do not know that it is not being taught in any K-12 curriculum.
A lack of knowledge, experience or even research are not stopping people from so adamantly attacking CRT. This happens because of the story that is being told. The story that the bad guy is coming to hurt your kids, take away your lifestyle and ruin your community is a powerful horror story. It is the kind of story that activates the ultimate flight or flight response. If you can also get some people that in some way represent the bad guy to agree that the bad guy is coming for you, then it might as well be factual to those that believe that story.
People are losing their minds, laws are being passed and entire communities are being divided not based on the story of CRT, but on the fictional story about the story of CRT. Americas’ newest biggest fear is the fear of the story of CRT. We would do better to be afraid of the Blair Witch.
There will be more blogs coming regarding CRT, but let me close this one with Isaiah chapter 46, verses 8 and 9, ""Remember this and stand firm, recall it to mind, you transgressors, remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me,". God is big enough for us to remember the former things of old.