Lately I find myself wanting to disconnect. That’s no surprise to anyone following me on twitter, I’m sure, but I mean it on a broader scale than just disconnecting from technology.  I mean it on a society-wide level.  I mean it on a ‘man, stuff about our culture sure is messed up’ level.

I know lots of you will tell me to ‘make a difference’.  To ‘be the change you want to see…’.  To stop being such a wuss.  To tell me ‘thats life, you can’t avoid it’.  I get that. I’ve heard it.  I’ve told myself these things.  But then, this week, I realized something that may or may not make a difference in these arguments.

Just One Thing

Let’s just say that I have something about society that I think is really wrong and I want to ‘be the change’ on that issue.  Let’s pretend, for example, it’s factory farming (Ok, we all I know I don’t have to pretend that hard).  It’s an issue that I decide I want to ‘make a difference’ in.  Because of that, I go out and buy meat from ‘good’ farmers.  I explain my point of view to those I know, hoping it’ll make an impact.  I participate in organizations and with companies that are trying to change this issue for the better.

Did my efforts make a difference? Maybe they did on a small scale, and that’s great. But what if this one issue isn’t really one issue, but is symptomatic of a larger problem?  What if factory farming exists because our society no longer respects life, or animals, or farmers?  What if factory farming isn’t fixed as long as our society is THAT broken?

Does treating ‘rough skin’ on someone with leprosy help fight the disease?  It doesn’t.  It may make you feel like you’re helping, but you’re really not making a difference…you’re just making yourself feel better.

So, while you may be ‘making a difference’ in a single issue, the reality is that it’s just a symptom, not an issue at all. The issue won’t be addressed as long as the larger problem continues. Is your one issue really worth the trouble?

Fundamentally Broken

This really leads to a question of a society, an organization, or a group being fundamentally broken to the point where fixing the components really doesn’t lead to fixing the whole.

As always, churches are a good example for me.  For years I tried to be part of the solution in my local church.  I joined teams, I led initiatives, and heck, I worked on the staff.  So, when people tell me that I shouldn’t get frustrated with church, I should be part of the solution I secretly think they’re naive and move ahead further into disconnection.

A while ago I made the determination that fixing small issues in my church wasn’t fixing the ‘whole’. Instead, it was more likely encouraging the whole to have more meetings, more committees, and a bigger agenda.  What was my answer?  Disconnection.

I still participate in The Church (the worldwide Church of Christianity) but no longer participate in our local church.  I still have constant connection with friends and family from our local church (including staff members) and try to stay involved in their lives, but we have stopped supporting the institution itself.  And, yes, we long ago stopped giving our tithe to the local church as well because it was simply encouraging them in the wrong direction (can you say ‘bigger barns’?)

So, through disconnection we were hoping to change the whole, from the ground up.  And ya know what?  It seems to be working. The church is, frankly, running out of money because people like us stopped giving.  Programs are being cut, questions are being asked.  A “church doctor” has been hired. (don’t get me started on that one…)

Disconnection has made an impact on the whole which, I pray, will rethink it’s fundamentals and alter, not just the way it operates, but the reason it exists.

Disconnecting from Society?

I don’t think I’m brave enough (or crazy enough) to totally disconnect from society as a whole.  To become Amish or a live-off-the-land-hippie.  Would I like to?  Yup.  But for the sake of my kids and the risk that God may think I’m being stupid, I don’t think I can do it. However, every day I find myself moving more in that direction.

Driving through a daily commute lately has shown how ridiculous it is to be a part of this fuel-wasting and time-sucking structure of our society.  (As a side note, have you ever noticed the insane number of signs (road and advertisement) that you encounter in a 1 mile stretch of suburban/urban roads?  It’s an insult to my attention span!)

Watching TV or movies makes me complicit in the ads they peddle, the values they endorse, and the money they make from people who, frankly, can’t afford it.

Listening to news from outlets who confuse entertainment and reporting (and believing what they say!) makes me a supporter of this base of our modern ‘knowledge’.

Spending hours on the internet, literally altering my brain structure, is turning me into another quick-fix, short-attention span idiot (ahem…no offense :)

So is the answer to these (and many other insane base-line features of our society) to simply disconnect from them?  Do I move to the country to avoid traffic?  Do I throw my TV out the window ? Do I decide that I’d rather go without news than get it from a source that sickens me?  Do I stop using the internet, quit my job as a web developer, and start digging ditches?

Do I completely disconnect if I see our societal problems, on the whole, are not being changed by treating the symptoms?

I don’t know.  That’s my instinct these days.  I’m just so worn out by advertising, biased news, high-speed/no-depth thinking, and widespread ignorance about what’s happening to our society.  Yeah, I know, i sound like a 60s activist or a Libertarian, but I’m neither of these (really, I’m not). I’m just a regular guy who actually is taking notice of what’s happening to us...the question is:  What to do when the problem is so big that you can’t fix it one issue at a time.

Maybe I’ll just move to Spain and become a cheesemaker.  I’m sure the grass is greener over there.