Is America Too Sick to Recover? by Michael L. Brown
As the host of a daily, talk radio show, on Monday-Friday I receive an email from a Christian news service highlighting the top 7-8 stories of the day. This week, on Monday, the first three stories were: 1) White Supremacist Kills 20 at Walmart; 2) Socialist Shoots 9 in Dayton; 3) 25 Shot and Killed in Chicago in 4 Hours. How do we respond to news like this?
To be sure, these tragic shootings are just the tiny tip of a massive iceberg of violence and murder. And violence and murder are themselves just tips of an even bigger iceberg of national sin and rebellion and dysfunction.
But these shootings reveal the ugly underbelly of our society, and we cannot deny that we are very sick as a nation.
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The optimist, of course, will point to the many wonderful qualities of America. To the many sacrificial acts of Americans. To the many heroes in our midst, most of them unsung.
And the optimist would be right. There are many wonderful Americans and many great things about our nation.
But when a doctor tells you that you have cancer, the doctor doesn’t also say, “But you’re hearing and eyesight are good, so don’t be discouraged!”
Instead, the doctor tells you how serious the diagnosis is and gives you the best plan to fight it.
Today, we need that serious diagnosis. Today, we need to consult with the Great Physician. He is the only one who can heal our wounds.
Does that mean that we close our eyes and ignore the social dynamics that may have contributed to these horrific acts of bloodshed?
Certainly not.
Let’s have honest conversations about all the relevant (or, possibly relevant) issues.
Let’s talk about mental health.
About the breakdown of the family.
About gun control.
About the president’s rhetoric.
About the leftwing media’s mischaracterization and exaggeration of the president’s rhetoric.
About the condition of our inner cities.
About racism.
About immigration.
Let’s sort out the relevant from the irrelevant, the real from the imagined. Let’s put it all on the table for evaluation.
But at the end of the day, there are no social band aids that will heal the wounds of the grieving and the wounded or bridge our political divides.
There are no political solutions that will cure the ills that lie at the root of our society.
And while some will despise the call to prayer, in the end, there is nothing better we can do.
