The Age of Self-Loathing
There are certain cultural voices that would have us believe we humans are failing miserably at everything. We’re destroying our planet, we’re poisoning our bodies, we’re dumbing down our children, we’re bankrupting our future, and we’re wrong about everything we’ve ever believed about everything. All this in spite of the fact that we are the most advanced civilization the world has ever known, we’ve created a system for easy and instant access to the world’s knowledge, and anyone can create a platform from which to broadcast their ideas to the world. What I want to know is if we humans are such idiots, how did we ever develop such a system that allows us to proclaim it so efficiently? Or (the flip-side) if we are so brilliant to design such a system, why are we using it against ourselves?
Please don’t misunderstand. I’m not blind to the messes we’ve made. We should admit them and work very hard to clean them up. What I don’t understand is the person who expects a mess at every turn and then after trying to do something about it steps back expecting to find a new mess in his wake. Nothing is ever good enough. His best efforts are riddled with mistakes. And he is constantly inviting others to point out yet even more problems that he might have missed during his own evaluation. Again, I am not denying our need for constructive criticism or even a good kick in the pants from time to time. But when self-deprecation becomes a person’s default and they feel compelled to inflict it upon the rest of us through the many forms of media, we may no longer be dealing with a simple personality quirk. Furthermore, when this hyper-criticism of one’s own species is manifested as a cultural trend, it begins to perpetuate itself by attracting those who define their value systems by what they perceive as progressive or enlightened thinking. If these voices do indeed speak for the culture, we would have to conclude that the “I’m okay, you’re okay” mantra of the 1960s and 70s is being replaced by the new “I’m a screw-up, and so is everyone.” Could we be witnessing a swing of the cultural pendulum from one extreme to the other? Are we entering the Age of Self-Loathing?
If there is anything to my observation, I offer my Christian faith as the answer, not as a religion, but as the completely accurate and positive view of humanity. Christianity agrees we’re in trouble, but rather than fishing for reasons in the sea of society’s problems, it identifies the source of our trouble. Our problem is we rejected God, period. Christianity also identifies the only solution to our trouble. Rather than limiting sugar intake or carbon emissions, it points to a Person. The only way out of our predicament is by believing in Jesus Christ as Savior and obeying Him as King. If this sounds like an oversimplification of our condition or too easy of an out, I challenge the cultural voices to make their case. So far, it doesn’t seem to be working, does it?
