Your heart feels torn in two as she barely whispers to you the news that your father has been taken to the hospice. That means but one thing. He will die. His outspokenness against euthanasia has led him to his doom. Already your younger sister has died, she was taken after it was discovered she had leukemia. Every time there is a knock on the door, every time the phone rings, you and your family tense up. One thought penetrates you all. ‘Who is to be taken now?’
Let’s zip back to reality now. This isn’t 1984, you’re not put to death if you contract a disease or if you speak out against the government. You have rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. However, think, just think, for one moment, what it would be like. Can you imagine living in 1984? Or what about Animal Farm? If you don’t fit in, you die. If you speak out against it, you are as good as dead. Or sometimes, they wipe your brain and give you a whole new person. How do you know if who you are is who you really are? How many times could you have been brainwashed? Or what if it’s Lord of the Flies? In that case, it’s the survival of the fittest. If you can’t keep up, you’re no good. Think of the Pirate Code from Pirates of the Caribbean, ‘Those who fall behind are left behind.’
You’re probably either sitting there laughing at the ridiculousness of such a situation or sitting there breathing hard, thankful that you don’t live in a situation like that. Yes well, I suppose it could be considered ridiculous, if you keep in mind that we have certain unalienable rights. If you glance at our life today, you’d think it is. But if you look out the window of time, it could be our lives tomorrow. This is not about Terri Schiavo, and it’s not about abortion. It’s not about conservatives vs. liberals, and it’s not about Republicans vs. Democrats. It’s about choices we make and the consequences that we must endure. We may not ever see something like 1984, but if we are not careful about the choices we make, our children or our children’s children could see it.
Are we going to make the mistake of saying that only some life is worth living? Suppose we do. We won’t necessarily see the fruits of it, but we will see the beginnings. The blossoms on the apple tree, if you will. And what will the next generation think? They’ve only seen what we’ve done. And they will continue to water and grow this apple tree. Whether by our will or no, the choices we make will echo for eternity. In our country, we, the people, have more power than any other countries. We too need to remember the words from Spiderman, ‘With great power comes great responsibility.’
I can’t tell you how to act. I can’t tell you right from wrong. I can’t force you to make certain choices. But I can tell you that your choices will have consequences. And you must be prepared to face those consequences. This isn’t just something to worry about when you grow up. This is something for all time, yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Today we look to yesterday, to learn from choices made in the past. Today we make choices that will effect tomorrow. When you make your choice, remember, you will be determining part of the future. And I pray that you will not be a part of turning America into 1984.
Excellent article, Miss Kroger. I heartily agree. The wonderful thing is—God’s in control. He gives us wisdom to make our choices, and He shapes the future.
And in the end, we can be assured that God will conquer