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Finally finished Rod Dreher's "Live Not By Lies"
Here's my review & my prediction for the future:
Here's my review & my prediction for the future:
Overall, he's right: Woke Capital & Woke Culture are here to stay for the foreseeable future and anyone who doesn't want to be woke needs to be prepared for professional & personal consequences.
You won't be allowed to simply say "no thank you".
You won't be allowed to simply say "no thank you".
Even after 2020, this is a novel idea for too many people. I still hear so many fellow Latter-day Saints say "no, that's not going to happen."
Part of this is the proverbial frog not noticing the temperature gradually rising in the water around him.
Part of this is the proverbial frog not noticing the temperature gradually rising in the water around him.
The book is also valuable b/c it relates stories of what Christians endured under the Soviet Regime. Absolutely unbelievable examples to learn from & remember.
It's rightly a pessimistic book, but I have hope in two things going forward:
1) the weakness of the woke position.
2) it's inability to spread beyond Academia, Media & MegaCorps
1) the weakness of the woke position.
2) it's inability to spread beyond Academia, Media & MegaCorps
First, wokeness has many, many weaknesses. And it's up to us to call them out constantly. No political party or figure will or can do this for us.
Remember, this is SOFT totalitarianism, no one is getting thrown into a gulag or shot en masse for dissenting.
Remember, this is SOFT totalitarianism, no one is getting thrown into a gulag or shot en masse for dissenting.
And if we want to keep it that way, our best shot is to speak up & take an offensive position.
Staying silent for the benefit of a paycheck or to get along w/others is a smart tactic, but foolish strategy.
Staying silent for the benefit of a paycheck or to get along w/others is a smart tactic, but foolish strategy.
Staying silent also ensures that future generations of Christians will be unprepared for what they'll face and will be more likely to convert to the woke religion.
It's been this way for decades already, but Christians cannot continue to unquestioningly consume media, sports & entertainment. These are all "missionary efforts" of wokeness to one degree or another.
Christians will need to create their own entertainment & consume media that isn't explicitly preaching a competing religion. And I'm not talking about making more church videos with an obvious message and a moralizing soundtrack.
Honestly, I don't have a lot of solutions here and I'm not currently in a position to produce anything of my own yet. But maybe in 2022 or beyond.
That being said, I tend to think (hope is perhaps more accurate) that wokeness will not spread much beyond its current strongholds of media, academia and megacorps.
Wokeness is a religion of the privileged and/or educated elite.
It doesn't often concern itself with "lower class" jobs & will struggle to infiltrate sectors of the economy that don't have a Human Resources department or government contract.
It doesn't often concern itself with "lower class" jobs & will struggle to infiltrate sectors of the economy that don't have a Human Resources department or government contract.
I've worked with dozens of small business owners/soloprenuers (electricians, plumbers, brokers, landscapers, CPAs, etc.) this year and I've been amazed at their ability to speak their mind and live their life with little to no heat, even from clients.
All this, while a Program Manager at MegaCorp pulling in $150K a year has to censor every social media post.
The big difference is the latter has an entire HR department breathing down his neck.
The big difference is the latter has an entire HR department breathing down his neck.
This is also a huge reason why I'll encourage my kids to pursue non-college career options & will offer them a role or funding in a family business when they're ready.
It's at least a small protection from the soft totalitarianism they're likely to experience in a corporate/professional career track.
In summary, I definitely recommend picking up Dreher's book. Just don't buy it from Amazon.
