Thought for the Week
24 years ago this week, terrorists struck America. And it, or rather how we responded to it, came to define the first decade of this century. Then, in the 20-teens, the world reeled from the Great Recession, and in many ways it defined the second decade.
5 years ago, we were assaulted by an invisible enemy that impacted even more lives than the decades of terrorism or recession. Will the COVID-19 pandemic forever define the 2020s? Or will something during this decade’s second half leave an even greater impression? (AI? Authoritarianism? War in the Middle East? The first Mars landing?)
Midway through the 2020s, will we finally begin drawing together, and developing a boundaryless sense of community? Or will we continue pulling further apart, embracing the alienation and mistrust that have become so familiar? Will we learn to communicate better? Or will we continue to hurl dubious “facts” at one another and call that communication? Will we define this decade?
Or will it define us?
“You are here to make a difference, to either improve the world or worsen it. And whether or not you consciously choose to, you will accomplish one or the other.” ~Richelle E. Goodrich
“We have to be braver than we think we can be, because God is constantly calling us to be more than we are.” ~Madeleine L’Engle
“Live life with a due sense of responsibility, not as those who do not know the meaning of life, but as those who do.” ~Ephesians 5:15
Great questions
Very pertinent question
We as a nation are definitely broken in many ways. I HOPE with all my heart we can fix our broken parts, but in all sincerity, I doubt we we will be able to before it’s too late. But I HOPE, I HOPE, I HOPE I am wrong.
Me too, Jeanne.
Interesting topic. I think the combination of COVID and technology have had big impacts on us. It’s a lot of self checkout, kiosks, etc. nowadays.
Yes, they don’t want us interacting with check-out staff.
I love this question. Covid certainly defined the first few years of the decade, but I think it’s likely something will happen in the second half that becomes more memorable.
Great questions! I think it’s a back and forth thing. We define by our decisions and the results define us back!
I agree, Anne.
The quote is so so true.
The breakdown of social contracts. Democracies that don’t/can’t/won’t prepare and defend their citizens from external threats – be they invasions/cyberattacks/Ai/terrorists/climatic events. Parents who don’t protect, raise and provide for their kids. Nations that don’t define their borders and their citizens, so they know how much education. medical care, national defense and law enforcement to budget for and deliver. Citizens that don’t understand their responsibilities to their families, countries and communities and instead focus on their rights and entitlements and acting out their frustrations. Once upon a time in America, these social contracts were clear and honored well enough to offer people a sense of security and safety so they could pursue economic and social mobility with family support and quality public education. It feels like enough of these contracts are so broken that people are fending for themselves – even kids – and it’s making them anxious and alienated, sometimes violent and reliant on dangerous vices. Just a thought. 🙂
I fear that on a global level it will be war that defines this decade. I hope I’m wrong.
I hope so too, Catherine.
Keep praying!
Hmmm, I’m not sure about making, ” this world” a better place. I do know we are called to lay down our lives for one another and to share the message and love of Christ in this hopelessly broken world.
Good questions. I think it’s too soon to tell since there’s so much going on.
I think it will be the changing definition of what it means to be American and to be a democracy/republic. Both of those ideas are being challenged by the current administration, and it is impacting many lives. A lot of people have no clue what is happening, because some news sources are very biased and don’t tell all the facts (including some conservative sources like Fox News). Some people are fine with our liberties eroding because it doesn’t affect them… for now. But those ideas are changing, and they may continue to change, and it may not turn out how some people want it to.
BTW, since I may have stirred something up already, let me just add that it’s possible to support some issues by a party while realizing other issues by the same party are irresponsible and dangerous. It’s extremely risky to believe one party has all the answers and the other party is always wrong. That’s how some news sources and certain politicians frame things these days, so be careful. That kind of blind loyalty is how a country ends up in extremism. There are some good things happening, but also some things that could be really bad a few years down the road.
Nothing tremendously notable I guess. Covid seems to have faded from memory. When we talk about the ’20’s I think many people still think 100 years back to gangsters and a Model Ts – not our 20s.
Love the scripture from Ephesians. My grandchildren lost my husband and their other grandparents to Covid. Our years are defined by those experiences. Enjoy your evening!
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It’s scary to think about, but at least we know how the story ends!
Thought provoking post and really like your first quote about making the world better or worse. Thanks for doing your part in making it better!
Aw, likewise, dear friend.
Thanks, Mitch 😊
I pray that we will draw together to form a strong community, Mitch.
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Great post! Thank you for sharing, Mitch.
My privilege, Caroline.
I only hope it isn’t Trump that defines the decade or us.
Thanks for the prompt Mitch.
For me, it will be the rise of populism and pushing the Overton Window further to the right. The two people that come immediately to mind are Donald Trump and Nigel Farage. I also think of the damage we’re doing to the Earth by (inter alia) being so scornful of Net Zero. I’m quite certain that this decade will be the warmest on record — not that many people will (apparently) be affected by things unless that is your home is in a low-lying part of the world.
Take care, Julian
Pollution and degradation of the earth is serious but Net Zero is a scam to profit the corporates as usual.
So, what do we do? Keep burning fossil fuels, mine for more coal, frack the bejesus out of the earth? Or should we, as China is doing (and yes it still burns way too much coal), invest, as we should, in renewables? The Trump nonsense on ‘windmills’ is risible, given we haven’t built a windmill in England for a few centuries. I don’t want to appear tendentious but I’m sure there’s more that brings us together over the climate catastrophe than separates us.
Thank you for your reply. I live in the UK, Sussex by the way.
I do not understand your comment “The Trump nonsense on ‘windmills’ is risible, given we haven’t built a windmill in England for a few centuries.” I understand he is talking about wind farms, wind turbines and we have built those in England.
The whole thing of ‘climate catastrophe’ is a deceit as people worry about CO2 and a degree or two in temperature rather than pollution and degradation of the earth as I said. Petrochemicals and plastics are a major concern in this. We want to generate energy as cleanly as possible, but the UK has suffered from the industry being privatised and passing into corporate hands outside of the UK. There are whole raft of issues to address which cannot be readily discussed under this post.
I appreciate your thoughts here Mitch. I could not speculate but I suspect as you eluded to, whatever it is, it’s yet to arrive.
“24 years ago this week, terrorists struck America.” Some say it was an inside job to push for war and profit.
“5 years ago, we were assaulted by an invisible enemy (COVID 19)”. Many say it was an inside job to push for war and profit.
Plus ça change.
“For this reason God will send them a powerful delusion so that they believe the lie, in order that judgment may come upon all who have disbelieved the truth and delighted in wickedness. – 2 Thessalonians 2:11+12
https://alphaandomegacloud.wordpress.com/covid-19-summary/
Mitch, I love this. Thank you for giving us pause to…pray, ponder, wonder. I know what will define my heart and I pray that whatever defines our country will bring us all closer to recognizing the DIVINE Creator. THANK you for your wisdom, dear friend. The quotes and verse are treasures. God bless you!❣️🙏🏻
Likewise, dear friend❣
“You are here to make a difference, to either improve the world or worsen it. And whether or not you consciously choose to, you will accomplish one or the other.” ~Richelle E. Goodrich
Great quote. We need to chose to be concious and take a stand for the better.
Hmm, yeah, I have a feeling that whoever reads about this era in a future history book is going to have a LOT of questions for us about why we collectively made the decisions we did …
I fear you may be right, James.
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Quotes for the chalkboard. Thanks, Mitch! God bless!
You too, Nancy!