“Our truest response to the irrationality of the world is to paint or sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth.”
– Madeline L’Engle
He had been taught that truth was relative. He learned that he shouldn’t force his beliefs on anyone. They were his own. No one else had to think like him. No one had to believe like him. All truth, taught by every religion, was real and valid.
But in the real world, he discovered on a daily basis, that the news, the opinion makers, his boss, his co-workers, the entertainment world all thought their beliefs were the right ones. He discovered that many people were not tolerant of his belief system. He had to ditch his and take on theirs. He had to accept what they said, hook line and sinker.
One belief they crammed down his throat equated to “human life is not precious.” This played out in films where killing was celebrated and honored. He experienced this in ultra-violent video games where you could chose to kill children and women. He heard it music, live on stage and recorded, on the radio.
The entertainment he consumed told him one thing, but his heart told him another. It conflicted with all that he experienced from friends and family and heroes.
It conflicted with the fact that his mother was fighting cancer. Despite the grim prognosis, they decided as a family for her to fight to live. The doctors agreed. It was worth a try.
Looking into the oncologists eyes, he could see that they both believed his mother’s life mattered. That they should fight to keep her alive and maybe beat this thing. They did just that and she lived for two years longer than anyone expected. She got to she her first grandson and hold him. She got to spend 700 days more with her son than they had planned on.
Her life was precious and the Truth they acted on opened a door to great joy.
Truth is not malleable. Truth is not something that bends to the times and cultures. Truth is the wall that says, “Stop! Turn back. Don’t go this way. Danger is on the other side.”
American culture—world culture—has tossed Truth out the window. They have bought into the demonic lie that Truth is what we make it to be. We are the gods of our lives and we make up the rules as we go.
We all know, deep down, that isn’t true. C.S Lewis in his book titled The Abolition of Man, notes that all man, across all times, across all cultures, believe a set of core values. He calls these values the Tao, a universal moral law, implanted by God in the hearts of mankind. No matter what, we cannot remove Truth from the human soul. We can deaden our senses and not listen to it anymore. But this will lead to the abolition—complete annihilation—of man.
Our films should contain the Truth. Our films should wrestle with the Truth. Our films should put the Truth on full display. Our films can, and must, speak to the principles that all people believe. They can show that love is better than hate. That sacrifice is better than greed. That justice should stamp out injustice.
Act One believes as Madeline L’Engle said, “Our truest response to the irrationality of the world is to paint or sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth.” The art we create can help people see the Truth that lies behind it all. It can help people see that lives matters, that people matter, that Truth is alive and well and necessary to our survival.