Never In My Wildest Dreams: Some Of My Worst, Most Disturbing Nightmares

Here's a normal range of opinions on a given subject,
from people on the far left to those on the far right.

Born on the eve of World War II, I've seen my share of tragedies and troubles in my lifetime, including living through the turmoil of the Civil Rights and Vietnam War eras. But there are some recent developments I'm finding especially disturbing.

In a polarized society, the middle shrinks and people
tend to see each other as opposites and adversaries,
according to David Brubaker', in When The Center
Does Not Hold, Leading In An Age Of Polarization.

1. Citizens in general, members of churches included, have become so polarized that there is a serious lack of a collaborative majority of people in the middle. Instead of our differences appearing on a normal bell shaped curve as shown here, with the bulk of people holding positions somewhere between two extremes, we now have more and more people bunched up against each other on one side or the other of important issues, seeing each other as enemies to be vilified and defeated. Insurrections are justified and verbal and even physical attacks are becoming more commonplace. Middle ground has become a near no man's land.

2. As a distressing example, my friends and colleagues in my own chosen faith community, Anabaptist/Mennonite, have experienced an increasing number of church splits and division. As I've often lamented before, when I first became a part of the Virginia Mennonite Conference (VMC) in the 60's, there were only two other Mennonite communions in Rockingham County, those being two Old Order Mennonite groups who had separated from VMC and were now separated from each other. Today there are some 15 different varieties of Anabaptist congregations who are estranged from each other. I find this embarrassing and appalling.

3. An ever larger percentage of Americans, believers and unbelievers alike, seem to have become ever more untethered from normal ways of distinguishing truth from fiction. For instance, in spite of numerous recounts and multiple court cases verifying that the 2020 election results were accurate and that the electoral process was without significant flaws, a huge percentage of people are perpetrating what has become known as The Big Lie. No amount of just plain math applied in multiple and credible checks and rechecks can persuade them otherwise, leaving  me beyond baffled.

4. In the face of a pandemic that has taken more lives than have the nation's major wars, and in spite of the remarkable and near providential manufacture of an effective vaccine (thanks in part to the Trump administration), a significant percentage of the population steadfastly refuses to trust the science that has made it possible, and thus to avail themselves of the protection it offers themselves and others. They base their opinions on a blitz of media misinformation they have come to trust more than they do reputable sources like the Center for Disease Control or the Department of Health and Human Services. This is in stark contrast what happened when a vaccine for polio finally became available earlier in my lifetime, when people were all too grateful for the protection the Salk vaccine offered. 

5. While glaciers and ice caps are melting by the megatons every day, sea levels are rising measurably and ominously, large expanses of rainforests are being destroyed daily--all of which are accelerated by our wasteful and earth polluting ways--only a minority of legislators, preachers, or other leaders seem to be aroused to action by it. Not even alarming increases in drought and flood conditions and near apocalyptic wildfires, not even the desertification of large parts of sub Sahara Africa and the starvation of herds of animals and hundreds of human beings seem to motivate us to change our wasteful ways. Meanwhile our fragile and wonderful planet is heading toward a disaster that could have been prevented if we were willing to pay the price.

At age 82, I may or may not see my worst nightmares come to pass. But I fear what our children and grandchildren may have to face.