We're Not Going to Kill – Today

     "That's all it takes. Knowing that we're not going to kill ... today."

Although that line was uttered as an anti-war statement, this is not an anti-war column. There have been plenty of those and we really shouldn't have much trouble deciding how we feel about blowing people into little bitty bits.

     Those of you who read my column regularly will know by now that I'm a science fiction fan in general and a Star Trek fan in particular. And if you are familiar with Star Trek, you'll know that the quote above is from an episode of the original series. Captain Kirk is caught up in a society that has been waging a computerized war for so long that they have come to believe that it’s the normal state of affairs. Their entire culture is built on the assumption that change is impossible.

     The episode doesn't stick in my mind because of its high production values. By today's standards its special effects were, to be generous, quaint. And it's not because its dialogue was particularly well crafted. Outside of the line I quoted, it wasn't exactly inspiring. This was, after all, a weekly series on network television in the sixties.

     The world has changed a lot in four decades. But, as the saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Which is apt, because this wasn't really a story about war. It was a story about change. Or rather, the fear of it. That's just as relevant today as it was then.

     And that's why this particular bit of dialogue has rattled around in my memory for so long. What struck me about these particular characters wasn't their stylized war. It was their desperate rationalization for maintaining the status quo. It was easier for them to sacrifice thousands of people for reasons no one remembered or cared about, than it was to risk the unknown by taking a chance on change. All of their traditions, all of their customs, were based on beliefs that no one had questioned for centuries.

     Does that sound vaguely familiar?

     When change was forced on them, their leaders reacted with fear. The rigid structure of do's and don'ts, the rituals that had guided their lives and provided emotional security, were gone. All they could see was chaos in an uncertain future. Kirk's advice, offered just before the last commercial break, was simple. Don't try to deal with the future all at once. Let's just deal with the present. We're not going to kill ... today. The rest will work itself out.

     Like Kirk's aliens, we are being forced to change too. Not by visitors from another planet, but by the realities of an increasingly global culture. Whether we like it or not, it's becoming impossible to ignore the fact that the rigid rituals and traditions we counted on are not universal answers to be applied to the entire planet.

     For us too, sometimes it's hard to see anything except chaos in an uncertain future. Which can lead us to react with fear, which leads to aggression. We don't have to look past the headlines to see how that's working for us.

     Faith offers another answer. One that lasts past the end of this week's episode.

     By accepting the challenge to change we become open once again to the working of the Holy Spirit. Old traditions that hemmed us in and limited our understanding are transformed. We are instilled with new life and new energy.

     It isn't easy. But we don't have to tackle it all at once. One day at a time is enough

     That's all it takes. We're not going to kill God's challenge to change ... today.