A few weeks ago when we were desperate for any news from the Naval Yard, and information was scant and confused, the news media had to keep broadcasting. What they could have done was to keep repeating the information they did have, as well as sharing the information that was readily available – the number of people who would be at the Naval Yard, the layout of buildings, the kinds of response teams arriving, etc….. What they used to do was speculate, extrapolate, and disseminate false and conflicting information (remember all the false alarms they raised on September 11, 2001?). What they did was share our tweets. Honestly I’d rather they make something up. The last thing I want to know when poised on the edge of my seat during such a crisis is what a dog-groomer from Bethesda is thinking about it all. I want to hear from the Chief of Police, some security expert, an eyewitness, a reporter in the field, from the eye-in-the-sky chopper. Cheyenne from Olney may be a lovely woman with informed opinions, but, as harsh as this may sound, I have no interest whatsoever in what she is feeling at the moment.
Fran Lebowitz, in her recent film Public Speaking, remarked to Martin Scorcese that there is too much democracy in the culture and not enough democracy in government. She went on to explain that gerrymandering and special interests have made our votes meaningless (I would add that the complete lack of decent candidates adds exacerbates this) – but that social media makes everyone think that they are as expert as anyone else on any given subject – or at least that their opinion on subjects as wide-ranging as childhood immunizations, the Arab Spring, and the dress Pink wore to the Grammys should be shared with the world. I firmly agree. Nothing, NOTHING, (not even the phrase, “next up, the latest from One Direction”) gets me to switch channels quicker that the announcer saying “when we come back – your texts and tweets.”
You discern my thoughts from afar….Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. Psalm 139.2,4
I saw a great cartoon the other day – two guys in futuristic looking police uniforms were walking together, and one says to the other, “When I signed up for the Thought Police, I didn’t know it would be such a boring job.” When I read that I thought of the verse above, of all the thoughts and feelings God knows and processes at any given moment. How many of those thoughts are ugly, offensive, and hurtful? How many are dull, dull, dreadfully dull? And yet he knows them all - intends to know them all - cares about knowing them all.
Pray without ceasing, God instructs (I Thessalonians 5.17). Having access to our thoughts and feelings is not enough for Him. He wants us to share them directly – to constantly talk to Him. Amazing!
God knows what Cheyenne from Olney was feeling about the shootings at the Naval Yard. More than that, it matters to Him.
