C.S. Lewis was a man before his time. He wasn’t a prophet, but two of his books should be mandatory reading in 2020. “The Abolition of Man” is the first, and we’ll discuss the other in another post.
Currently, we live in a culture sounding the cymbals of Science. It is capitalized, because there is a large element of Western society which places the supposed objectivity of science on an altar. They throw statistics and marginally decent studies around like dogma. Similar to the accusations they raise against faith communities for past crimes, they are willing to cancel, protest, strike and seem quite willing to burn at the stake any dissident voices.
Our differences make us unique and add to the beauty of humanity. I will passionately argue for my worldview, but I don’t want it to win simply by omitting the voices of opposition. I want to prevail because my worldview is superior. If I am wrong, I certainly wouldn’t want to have lived my entire life forcing others to adhere to that view.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been promoted for the idea that we can produce completely autonomous machines which can learn, adapt, adjust and essentially outlive us all. Some thinkers have even postulated the idea of uploading a human’s entire thinking process, essentially a map of every emotion, belief, thought and piece of knowledge the person ever had. They even think this is some sort of eternal existence. What C.S. Lewis so adeptly pointed out was that what would remain would not be human at all. It would be no more than an artifact. An object with all that is human about it abolished.
Fortunately for those of us who actually value human life, this isn’t a current reality. We are still very far away from this technological advance, if it is even possible.
What we are not immune to, and what we are dealing with in our midst, is another form of abolition. The reactionary measures and the fears stoked in every effort to preserve some form of life. This form of life represents more of an artifact, than anything human. Out of fear of death, whether from a virus or other cause, we are willing to forfeit the very things that make life worthwhile. This nefarious form of oppression sucks the meaning from life itself. We extend survival, but what kind of survival is this?
Live music events get cancelled. Social events and educational conferences are suspended indefinitely. Sports, entertainment, dining out, shows and weddings were all delayed or cancelled. For one time events, like weddings are meant to be, a delay may be as good as a cancellation to a family member at risk of dying, which could be all of us. Stopping a wedding due to virus concerns, could result in the mother or father of either party to the marriage never being present if they were to be in a tragic accident the following day. Grandma or Grandpa might never get to witness their sole namesake make those vows.
What about the deaths? Wakes were not allowed or attendees were limited to such an extent that families were not able to properly mourn or to comfort one another with hugs in their mutual loss. Dying patients in hospitals were denied the closeness of loved ones in their last moments…potentially the only comfort they wanted.
We have been doing this for quite a while. Regulating voluntary relationships of people with the threat of punitive measures always looming. The orders for these measures derived from some well-intended fool who would like nothing more than to do things to help you. What we value as individuals is no longer important in a system in which masks can be made mandatory, groups can be arrested for enjoying one another’s company, or church goers can be fined for parking in a paved lot.
If we cannot truly live, what is the point of continuing this existence?
Calls for continued safety measures are laced with promises that if we all just obey, we will eventually get through this and go back to living. They tell us to trust the Scientists. Trust the Science. Science will save us all, but for what? Life bereft of all of the moments which give it meaning isn’t really living at all. We are invoking Science in some deranged attempt to validate measures that make science itself meaningless. We remove the color, the flavor, the beauty and scents that make life worth living…all in the name of Science.
This sacrifice is not a temporary or meaningless one. For some, the cost is final. They are forfeiting things that carry great meaning to them when some might even choose to die an agonizing death rather than to miss the birth of a child, or to pass on the opportunity to say a final goodbye to a loved one. We should feel the loss of these opportunities in the depths of what makes us human. The metrics that matter are not only infection, death and recovery rates. The metrics that matter even more, are the same metrics that make those metrics meaningful at all. They are love, purpose, care, enjoyment, passion….they are life.
C.S. Lewis is always a good read, and just as in many of his writings, “The Abolition of Man” has proven timeless as well.
Don’t forget to subscribe below to make sure you don’t miss any of my timeless classics.
