Great Awakening or Woke?

If I told you that there was a time when the increase in religious freedom, government freedom, and social unity existed, would you believe it? These points in time were characterized by significant changes in American society. These periods of time are known as the Great Awakenings. They occur approximately every 80 years and tend to flourish for about 20 years before society begins to go backward on social and moral issues. Just as the new pharaoh of the Book of Exodus forgot about Joseph and all he did to help Egypt, we are experiencing people who do not seem to know or choose not to acknowledge the contributions of all people to this great nation. It appears the time for another Great Awakening has arrived.

Historians have identified four of these Great Awakenings since 1735. The first being around 1735 which helped inspire the colonies to revolt against the British Empire. The second was in the early 1800s that lead to the founding of several colleges, seminaries and mission societies. The third being in the latter part of the 1800s which coincided with the abolition of slavery, the civil war, and the women’s suffrage movement beginning. The fourth during the mid-1900s that coincided with the civil rights movement which netted an unprecedented number of changes for the rights of people to have access to public spaces, education, and housing.

Each of these periods marked a significant shift in religious groups and governmental policy. They had the unique ability to unite and galvanize the people to demand change so that we treated one another better. Each one was followed by a period of time that tried to rationalize away the need to make life better for all and try to trust that just a few will do it for everyone. 

Today, while politicians argue over how to spend money on educational concepts, infrastructure, immigration and who gets help, the masses of people are not being educated sufficiently. People perish when they do not have enough knowledge. Great nations fall when they repeat the mistakes of those who came before them. The systematic study of a subject through observation is referred to as science. The emotional discussions about how to educate people cause truth to be distorted and the people unable to make informed choices.

The last time I checked, fiction means something is not true and teaching religion in public school is frowned upon. Yet, there are all kinds of “fiction” books in the schoolhouse about witchcraft, sorcery, and ghosts available, which is a form of religion. The historical truth, or non-fiction, is being discouraged in classroom discussion. What a crazy time we live in, when one politician is afraid to say the word “slavery” while another has no problem with saying they want to be a dictator just for the first day. (Yeah, right!)

Maybe we should spend more time considering that the truth be taught in school rather than what we feel should be taught. Perhaps the time for another Great Awakening has already begun, but the fearmongers have tried to dismiss it as “Woke.”

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