Defending Hunger Games: Caring for the kids

Have you read the book Hunger Games? Have you seen the movie?

Does the story offend you?

The stories, books, movies, music and such that a culture produces is reflecting the heart and soul of that culture. The writer, in most cases, has been stirred by something that produces the story.

Perhaps there is something wrong with a culture that stirs the heart of an author to write about a world in which the kids are told to kill one another in order to preserve its way of living.

Perhaps watching such sadistic violence is something that already is taking place. Would a society really take pleasure in watching the cruel destruction of innocent lives? No society would put up with that would it? No society would allow itself to become so heartless would it? Of course it has happened repeatedly throughout history.

Some took great offense at the story of Hunger Games because it shows kids killing kids. The story is not about, nor does it promote the idea of kids killing kids. The leaders of that imaginary world told the lie that it had to be done to preserve society. The kids and families knew it was wrong but could do nothing about it. It was the leaders who were killing the kids. They took pleasure in the possibility that they could instill their callous mindset in the lone survivor of the yearly spectacle.

Why do I bring this up now?

When the latest school shooting took place there was an understandable flurry of misinformation and opinions.

One news commentator who is a Christian chose to bring up Hunger Games. She expressed her view that a movie like that shows kids committing horrible acts of violence against other kids. It is true that took place in the story. It is true we wouldn’t want to see that or encourage that in real life, but is that what the author was saying or promoting?

No

I can’t say I know what the author was intending, but the premise of the book was a society that had fallen so far from making good moral choices, that it had come to the point in which it sacrificed its kids for the sake of convincing people it was the only way to save society and remember the pain of past poor choices.

We really are not so far from that place now. I won’t get into the sordid details of what we are doing to our kids, but we really don’t care about the kids as much as we say we do.

I have seen too much in my short life to believe a power-loving self-centered political leader who says he is doing something for the kids. Most of the time he or she is doing it for their own reasons.

Watching violence can lead to more violence, but that is not the point I am making here.

• Life has value; we should treasure it, not take pleasure in seeing it taken away.
• Kids have value; we should not take pleasure in using and or abusing them.
• An adult has no more value than a child; we are all equal and treasured in the eyes of God.
• And a ‘perfect’ adult has no more value than a special needs child who a doctor might determine will have no quality of life.
• Our education system is a broken mess and is ruining our children…that I think is part of a sadistic plan.
• I don’t believe we are much different from the corrupt society of Hunger Games.

What do you think? Is there hope for us or are we too far down the road?

Clay Writer

 

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