Brave New World

As I was visiting my grandmothers at the nursing home last week an interesting thought struck me. I noticed in each and every room there was a television set at the foot of each patient's bed. I recalled the most poignant moment for me of Aldous Huxley's classic, Brave New World. It occurs when John visits his mother in the hospital where she lies dying.

In Huxley's world, "death-conditioning" is used to desensitize the population to innate fear or trepidation regarding death. Thus the hospitals are equipped with 24/7 entertainment, music and pleasant smells. The whole goal of this utopian society is to avoid pain, suffering, misery and discomfort. Thus, the engineers of this culture attempt to make death- the ultimate pain- as pleasant as possible. Having been raised in the "real world", John possesses a proper respect for death and its meaning. During his visit with his mother, a group of unruly children is brought in to tour the hospital as part of their "death-conditioning". The children run around the floor mocking the patients and generally disrupting the serene atmosphere. Outraged that the children are taught such flippant disregard for suffering and death, John is unable to control his rage. Can you imagine sitting at the bedside of a dying loved one and experiencing such a horrific disrespect for you and your family?

Our culture has always regarded the death experience as a sacred one--meeting your Maker is not a matter to be taken lightly. However, I fear that we are quickly approaching a time when we will view death as the inhabitants of Huxley's Brave New World. Just as John was outraged by the desensitizing of children, so we must be concerned when children have so little regard for life that they have no qualms about killing schoolmates. In a culture where so little value is placed on life (violent video games, abortion on-demand, foul rap music, etc.), we can hardly expect much respect for the significance of death. When children are taught that they are merely animals and that there is no higher power to which we are held accountable, then of course life has no meaning and death is just another meaningless fact of life. But when children are taught that each life has purpose and that in the end we must answer to our Maker, life and death become very serious.

It is important to make patients as comfortable as possible as they make their way into the next life. However, something meaningful is lost when a patient's every minute is filled with the noise and chaos of this world, especially through television. Our culture is so fast paced that to take even a few minutes of solitude each day is difficult. And yet, in solitude we hear the conscience--the voice of God. Perhaps this is why people prefer to fall asleep with the television on or leave the radio on all day; they are afraid of silence and the convictions that come when the mind is quiet. Television, radio and other forms of entertainment are fun diversions but when they become the center of life, life loses much of its significance. Life and death are about so much more than-as Neil Postman so accurately described it-amusing ourselves to death.

As death draws close, each person should be given the opportunity to reflect upon their life and contemplate what comes next. A television blaring in the background will make this considerably more difficult. As my grandmother prepares herself for meeting her Lord, my mother reads her Scripture and plays beautiful hymns for her. We all express our love for her. The veil between this life and the next is very thin and it is amazing to watch my grandmother as she tells us she sees angels and she marvels at "how beautiful it is". What a glorious life awaits God's children after this one. The passing from this mortal life to immortal life in the presence of God should always receive the reverence and awe it deserves.