What #Vanlife Says About our Culture

 

There is something appealing about being lost, isolated and disconnected. I have been watching a lot of #Vanlfe videos on YouTube. They have no daily agenda, get to travel where they want, experiences places where they don't know a single person. I can see how this can life can be enticing. No direction! You have no idea what tomorrow brings!

Unsurprisingly, #Vanlife became extremely popular during isolating times, the COVID pandemic. Even with all the amazing scenery, these #Vanlifers also seem to be the most unhappy, anxious people! They lament not having a stable community because of the constant moving around. Those "views" can't replace being grounded and community.

This also makes me think of social media, which is supposed to connect us and help us build online "communities". It does the opposite. It provides a false sense of community that often leaves us isolated and disconnected.

I see a lost and directionless society. I see an unhappy society filled with anxiety and distrust. We were sold that being lost and directionless is a way to pave our own way. But we need meaning, purpose, and community.  We need God. We need family, friends, and others. There's a reason why our ancestors went from directionless nomads to building communities/cities to settle down in. We all need roots.

Great Wedding Songs List (A Lot of 90s music)

For some reason, I keep a running list of wedding songs. Here is my list (feel free to comment on a song you think should be added):

Stuck on you - Meiko

Broken Road Selah

10,000 hours Dan and Shay

Matt Stell - Prayed For You

Bruno Mars - Marry You

Ed Sheeran - Thinking Out Loud

Maren Morris - The Bones

It’s About Us - Jeff Leblanc

I’m Gonna Be (500) - Proclaimers

Forever and Ever, Amen - Randy Travis

Mine - Taylor Swift

Kiss Me - Sixpence None the Richer

I Swear - John Michael Montgomery

I Can Love You Like That - All 4 One

I Knew I Loved You - Savage Garden

Songs I Will Forever Relate to the COVID Pandemic

As we all know that music has a way of taking you back in time. Reminds you of what you were going through when you were listening to that song and how it spoke to you.

I have two songs that I believe will forever remind me of the pandemic. 

1) Jeremy Camp - Keep Me in the Moment - This video came out the week of the lockdowns. It is about time, slowing down, and appreciating loved ones. The lockdowns really did slow down everything. Made me realize how important relationships are!

I’ve been thinking ‘bout time And where does it go How can I stop my life from passing me by I don’t know I’ve been thinking ‘bout family and how it’s going so fast Will I wake up one morning just wishing that I could go back I’ve been thinking ‘bout lately maybe I can make a change and let You change me So, with all of my heart this is my prayer Singing Oh Lord keep me in the moment Help me live with my eyes wide open ‘Cause I don’t wanna miss what You have for me Singing Oh Lord show me what matters Throw away what I’m chasing after ‘Cause I don’t wanna miss what You have for me Keep me in the moment Keep me in the moment Keep me in the moment ‘Cause I don’t wanna miss what You have for me When I wake up in the morning Lord, search my heart Don’t let me stray, I just wanna stay where You are All I got is one shot, one try One go around in this beautiful life Nothing is wasted when everything’s placed in Your hands I’ve been thinking about heaven And the promise You hold So, it’s all eyes on You until the day You call me home

2) The second song is Movin' On by Jonathon McReynolds. It's about moving on from failures. But in the video, someone is packing up their stuff and starting new. Millions of Americans moved during the pandemic. I, myself, moved. It really gave me hope that a new location can be a fresh start.

Closed on Sunday

I'm a capitalist. I support business. That's why what I'm about to say might be

confusing. The American family is in disrepair. American culture is on the decline. We need stronger families. I think there is a small and Biblical thing we can do to strengthen families: Take back the Sabbath.

The Sabbath is for rest.  A time for reflection. A time to spend with family before the busy weeks begin. We've let business and commerce take our Sabbath. I would like to see way more businesses close on Sunday like Chick-fil-A. In fact, some European countries already do this.

While I support capitalism, I have always been wary of overconsumption in American society. The excess is concerning. Perhaps, taking back Sabbath would be a small step in getting priorities right.

The Sabbath should be a time of rest and reflection. A time to worship God. Not a time for business. I support business and commerce but I support families more. 

Where are the High-Minded Discussions on the Left?

I listened to two great conversations this week.

First, Glenn Loury, John McWhorter, and Jason Riley discuss Thomas Sowell's writing. Great intellectual conversation.

The second was Daily Wire Backstage, where the folks of Daily Wire pontificated on current events. 

Whatever you think of the politics of any of the individuals engaging in these discussions, it is hard to deny these are some pretty high-minded, intellectual conversations. No talking points. No superficiality.

I found myself wondering: Where are these types of discussions on the American Left? All the people featured in the above videos are right-leaning (some more so than others). I'm not trying name-call or anything. I know there are some serious intellectuals on the Left. I just don't see them in conversations like this. 

Who Killed Truth?

I've been listening to a very interesting podcast called "The Last Archive", hosted by historian Jill Lepore. To give some insight into the show here is a description from the website:

The Last Archive​ is a show about the history of truth, and the historical context for our current fake news, post-truth moment. It’s a show about how we know what we know, and why it seems, these days, as if we don’t know anything at all anymore.

I find this a highly intriguing question. Who killed truth? 

Ms. Lepore concludes her second season with an episode titled, "Epiphany." In this episode, her guest argues we don't know the truth because our "institutions of knowledge" such academia, media, and science have been under attack. She goes on to explain these institutions have been under attack for political gain. In her view, one political party benefits from this.

I would like to offer a different theory. Postmodernism, moral relativism, and our absolute distrust of any type of authority have killed the truth. Postmodernists argue truth as relative. When we all go by our own truth, there is no truth. This is the world postmodernism has built. We can no longer agree on simple truths because it is relative. We've built our own individualistic moral frameworks.

Another issue I see is an absolute distrust of authority. Let us face it Americans have issues with authority. Watch a few minutes of American media and I can't help but see a huge distrust of authority. Parents are portrayed as idiots. Teachers are shown as idiots. Religious leaders are portrayed as idiots and crooked. Law enforcement is shown as crooked. Politicians are crooked. I can go on. So how are we supposed to seek the truth when authority is under attack?

I understand that people are flawed and some level of skepticism in authority is healthy and normal. But that's now what I'm seeing. This goes above and beyond that. Sometimes it is downright disrespectful to all forms of authority. 

If you really want to deep-dive into who killed truth, I would start there.

Texas Sun, Birmingham Rain

 

Last fall I packed my bags for a better opportunity.
Putting my failures behind me called for a change of scenery.
But sometimes I miss the Texas sun when it rains in Birmingham.
But I know growth cannot happen in infertile land.

Nine hundred miles of distance between where I am
and where I used to be.
Friends are hard to come by when your disposition is meek.
Flaming sunsets replaced with steep winding roads.
Seeking all that will satisfy a wrestling soul.

Everything changes with time; nothing stays the same.
Moving on and breathing new terrain.

Why Millennials Like to Virtue Signal

Millennials have grown up with the media surrounding them. 
We grew up with 24/7 cable television (MTV first broadcasted the
year I was born) and computers were in our homes. If you didn't

want to shut down media, you didn't have to. All this media

consumption has made us value the way things appear (hello, reality television). Media consumption can distort our perspectives and views.

Generation X was the first generation to not be as financially well

off as their parents, and Millennials have continued the trend. 

America has been an economic powerhouse for generations

but that dynamism seems to dwindle every year. The American family is in absolute disarray. Many Millennials and Gen Zers are forgoing marriage and family.

Previous American generations actually fought wars and injustice. They accomplished great things. Can you list any major American accomplishments in the past 40 years that doesn't involve technology? I think there is deep insecurity there.

So now combine those two issues: A generation who grew

with high media consumption and few accomplishments. Is it

any wonder they are looking for causes to fight about on social media? No wonder many in my generation try to signal their moral superiority. They're living off the accomplishments of previous generations and seeking a way to prove themselves. Well, yeah we didn't build what other previous generations did but at least we're not racists, sexists, homophobic like them. 

I've often noticed the person that boasts the most in the room has accomplished the least. They want to prove themselves productive while actually doing little. That's many in my generation.

The Year of Fear

In God, whose word I praise—in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?
Psalm 56:4

If any word can describe 2020 so far it is fear. This has

been a fearful year. Fear of a virus. Fear of the economic consequences of shutting down an economy for several months. Fear of saying the wrong thing on social media can get you canceled. Fear of the social unrest going on our streets. 

I don't know about you but I'm tired of all the fear. The Bible tells us, "Be strong, do not fear!" A life lived in fear is not much of a life. I don't want to live my life in a bubble. I don't want to live my life afraid I may say the wrong thing.

I encourage us to evaluate the things that make us anxious and fearful and how we can deal with them. It might mean cutting down on social media. Getting on our knees to pray when we have those anxious thoughts. 

When the Bible talks about fear it usually contrasts it with courage. In a world living in fear, let's show others what courage looks like.

Only Trade-Offs

There are no solutions, only trade-offs.

- Thomas Sowell

America has been an economic power for a century. Generations of Americans have only known their country as being an economic giant. That soon will end. A common saying from economist Thomas Sowell has been stuck in my head these past few days, "There are no solutions, only trade-offs." In order to become an economic giant, we had to trade-off something. What did we trade-off? 

The answer hit me while I watched a movie that appropriately takes place in a region of the world ready to take America's place as the largest economy, Crazy Rich Asians. The movie is about a Chinese-American, Rachel Chu, meeting her boyfriend's extremely wealthy family in Singapore. Rachel wants to follow her passions. In one striking scene, Rachel is making dumplings with her boyfriend's large family and she mentions she didn't have a big family. Her boyfriend's mother bluntly (and in a judgemental manner) tells Rachel she put aside her career and ambitions to have a large family. (The irony is her boyfriend's mother is willing to put a wedge between her son and his future family so he can be a billionaire businessman.)

That was the trade-off we made: Our families. There is no doubt there has been a systemic dismantling of the American family. While American bank accounts were growing, families were falling apart. About 35% of American adolescents live without one of their parents, and around 40% of American children are born outside of marriage. I think many times we live in this utopian world where there are no trade-offs but in the real world, they exist.  

I want America to continue to be economically prosperous but I want us to reflect on trade-offs. Family is not something you trade-off.