People fascinate me. Just when I think I’m the oddest duck in the room, I meet a man in line at the grocery store who describes to me the portrait he just finished painting of Elvis welcoming the aliens who are dressed like him and gesturing in classic Elvis fashion. And then it occurred to me that maybe he thought I was odd for commenting on the irony of magazine placement; 
one of which depicted a stack of cookies(a food magazine) and the other a picture of a woman with six pack abs(a health magazine). My question to him was, “What kind of culture tells us to indulge our every craving while at the same time exhorting us to have “beautiful” bodies?” To which he replied with his fascination of science fiction. Upon further reflection I see how our conversation was actually addressing the same topic: our culture of fantasy.
Escapism feels like a human birthright. I know when stress or pain or boredom strikes me, my natural tendency is to pick up a book or the TV remote and “zone out.” It placates me for a while(usually until I fall asleep). And then I wake up and begin the next day with its trouble and joy and terror, only to find some other excuse to escape again. Last night, after a long day at work and a fairly serious appointment with a new endocrinologist, I decided that rather than indulge in fiction, I would watch the Republican National Debate on Youtube. We no longer have cable(to save money) but we have a Roku and so I can watch pretty much anything my heart desires any time I want to watch it. I watched it with the same level of interest that I watched the President of the United States give his State of the Union address. I want to be informed. I want to make conscious decisions when I vote. I do not generally think of those types of programs as escapism, at least not usually. So I did laugh when Gov. Chris Christie quipped about “watching story time with President Obama” in reference to the State of the Union address. I find it ironic that one politician would accuse another politician of producing fiction when I thought that was pretty at the top of their key responsibility statement.
Why do I say that? Well, I had a conversation with a co-worker recently who was trying to convince me of the capability of one candidate over the others. He told me that candidate would most likely be the next Republican presidential nominee “because he says what the people want to hear.” I’m not quick with a smart aleck retort, but if I was I would have said, “The diet industry makes billions of dollars telling people what they want to hear all the time. That doesn’t make what they say true.”
“Ten thousand people shouting the same thing make it false, even if it happens to be true.” Soren Kierkegaard.
Who are you really?
As I consider my responsibility in regards to voting for the next president of the United States of America, I very much want to contribute to the election of someone who closes mirrors my value system. But in the age of fantasy, where so much of what I see on television is fiction–even the words used by the people I am supposed to vote for, how do I know which one is the right one? It feels so impossible. I feel like I am drowning in a sea of illusion as I search for the one truth thing that will save me from the cacophony of nonsense. To be fair, I feel this way not only about our political system, but about health and fitness, the people I work with and religion in general. I tend towards the cynical when I feel like someone is trying to profit from my opinion, hence my disdain for prosperity doctrine.
So this morning I went searching for truth. I just want something tangible–something solid–something real. I want to remember who I am and what I believe. I want someone who isn’t trying to sell me something or earn my vote. I want someone who won’t profit from my opinion or reject me when my words don’t fit with their world view. I don’t want the illusion that our next president will keep me safe or solve my financial woes. I don’t want the lie that losing weight will make me happy. I don’t want the fantasy that eating ice cream will solve my emotional problems. I want the screeching hoard to stop until I can only hear the One voice that speaks comfort to my soul; Jesus.
I opened up my bible to the book of Luke and began to read the eye witness testimony of someone who walked with Jesus. I read the words Jesus said while he was alive, and the comfort he offered to the tired, worn and weary. I am not the first person who has cried out to him for help, nor will I be the last. But I am grateful He makes sense of my senselessness. He makes light shine in my darkness. He is my one true hope.
“After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” And leaving everything, he rose and followed him. And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at the table with them. and the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” -Luke 5:27-32
If you are new to my blog you may see that I have a little problem with food. I like to eat. A lot. My daily struggle with addiction threatens to drown me. Jesus is my only sanity. He shines light into the fantasies I hear and the fantasies I create for myself. I’m sick and He is my great physician. Some people might think I’m just as nuts as I thought the guy in line at the grocery store was. And that’s okay. We are all entitled to our opinions. To any and all skeptics I say this, He’s real to me. And that’s all that really matters.
Excellent analogies. The one thing I would add is that the nature of truth is that there can be only one. You cannot have opposing opinions that are both right. Only one can be right. The concept that everyone can have their own truth is as full of fantasy as all the other things you listed. Keep going! Love, Mom