Where Are We Now?

We are in the same place we were in last year, the year before that, and the decade before that. Things change, technology advances, changes ebb and flow over the world. Our problem is that we think the changes we see, some of which are quite profound, are meaningful or indicative of something. We are now in the same position we were in 200 or 400 years ago. Under the surface, of all our developments and so-called progress, we have not made any progress in reigning in our egos. We have not made any progress in controlling our tempers, our hatreds, our bigoted attitudes, and our disdain for what is good, clean, decent, and of God. As a race of beings, we are all physically and spiritually flawed from birth. For about two decades of life we grow and develop. In the next decade, we maintain our physical stature. However, from the fourth decade of life onward, we are in decline.

History repeats itself because we have not been able to clean up our flawed natures. From birth, we are driven toward self-preservation, sometimes at any cost. We are born with a sinful nature with no worldly way to fix the darkness that haunts us all. In our present day we are inventing new ways of displaying our dark side, while scrubbing the outside of our corpses so they look good, clean, and decent.

Where are we? We are in the tomb but we are good at applying the embalmer's make-up. Inwardly, our emaciated spirits need a fix to calm our nerves and deaden the pain caused by the cancer within our souls. With the added make-up and an emaciated soul, we look incredibly young and chiseled. It all looks so good. It all looks so fine. As we crank up the volume of the heavy metal band, we can boogey into the night thinking that we have it all together.

Where are we? We tell ourselves that nothing can touch us now. We tell ourselves we are the best and the brightest. Even when we are dead in the spirit we can still move about and drive over the speed limit. We know we can do anything we want, doing it to just about anyone we want, just so we don't get caught. After all, morality is a dead issue these days, isn't it? In our minds, we believe you can do anything you want, just so you are careful about it and you don't get in anyone else's face about it. Matters of right and wrong are always secondary.

Where are we? People are bombing cars and people because of hatreds stirred up by a former generation but we have all been there before. Plagues and viruses mow down the masses but we have been there before. Guns, bombs, and arms of mass destruction are sold and resold around the world, but we have seen all this before. In our sordid minds, we believe really don't have any problems in the world because we know someone is working on them and someone will fix them. We believe we won't be affected because we have not been affected. Sure, we are complacent. Sure, our grandparents went through the tough times but we continue to believe we are immune. We believe we don't have to worry. We believe we don't have to care because as long as the good times roll it does no good to care or prepare for a day that probably won't get here. We believe we don't have to care because the government will bail us out. In our hearts, we want to believe we have a government that wouldn't hurt us. We believe the powers that be are just trying to make a little money and there is no harm in making a little money.

Where are we? Our current view is that corruption has always been and will always be. It is everywhere and in our current thinking there is no use getting upset about it because there is nothing we can do about it. Corruption is just another way of getting things done isn’t it? In the minds of most people, corruption is like giving a waiter a tip in advance. No harm, no foul. You have to put a little grease on the wheel just to keep the bearings from burning up so there is no use getting irate over things you cannot change.

Where are we now? We are on the road to doom. In our current mindset, however, we need not worry, because someone, somewhere, is working on it. In the words of Anonymous Namus, "Even if doom comes, Jesus will fix it for us. All we need to do is turn on the tube and let the talking heads tell us what we need to hear. Frankly, the only worry I have right now is getting my local TV channels to come in bright and clear so I can see if the next contestant on "Who Want's To Be A Millionaire" will score the big prize."

The essential question should not be "Where are we now?" The essential question should be "Where should we be?" However, Anonymous Namus does not want to hear about where he or we should be. He and many of us inherently know where we should be…kneeling on holy ground at the foot of the Cross.