Over the last few days I've seen a commercial for an upcoming movie called The Purge. It's not a movie I want to see at this point, since I see about 3 movies in theaters a year and never get caught up by DVD of other watchable movies. I don't like horror movies, and this probably would turn into one.
But the story of this movie has piqued my interest. In the quasi-dystopian future, life seems to be great. Unemployment is almost non-existent, crime has just about been wiped out. Society seems to be functioning well, but why? For 12 hours each year, there is absolute freedom...there will be no consequences for crime, for murder, for anything that somebody might do, and society purges itself of its most heinous elements all in a brief period of time. Kind of a cathartic, violent release.
I'm intrigued because, if I'm completely honest, sometimes the wicked side of me thinks, hey, this ain't a bad idea. Wouldn't our world be all better if the child molesters, drug dealers, rapists, and murders basically had open season on each other? Or go even further...what about the members of society who are, quite frankly, burdensome? The aged, the sick, the morbidly obese. Doesn't darwinism say that eventually the weakest of the species will die out, and isn't this what basically we have been preventing over the last hundred or so years of social safety nets? We see it all the time, that there are some humans who are breeding who really shouldn't be allowed to breed. We see it in hospitals in which the chronically sick are kept alive even as they soak up resources. We wonder if society might better be served if we just shot the child molesters rather than letting them live out their lives behind bars. Heck, just a little bit ago I saw at the grocery store a guy getting out of a car who must of weighed half a thousand. How much does his existence negatively affect my life?
Part of me really does want to see this movie...but as usual I'd probably be disappointed because of the lack of answers that are given (IMDB seems to indicate that it's basically a very personal story with few outside elements). I'd rather see the big picture...do people go through hospitals euthanizing patients? Do prisons turn into slaughterhouses? Do the most violent of our cities burn? Is most of the year dedicated to getting prepared for the purge? Is the fastest growing industry home defense? Is this all just an NRA wet dream?
Of course, in some respects we already seek to purge society of its vilest elements. We lock people away into prisons, mental institutions, and even nursing facilities, so we can forget about some whom we'd rather not think about. We then broadcast their lives on cable TV and call it 'reality'. We watch it and feel better about our good lives.
I'll be honest, there are only two things that keeps me from thinking that this wouldn't be a bad idea:
1)There's probably at least a few people out there who think that me (or my family or my other loved ones) ought to be purged. Admittedly, I'd be an easy target. I don't keep guns, and I'm nearly a pacifist. Anybody who wanted to kill me would not find it that hard to do. So maybe this ain't a good idea on a selfish level.
2)From a Christ-honoring perspective, in which we honor all, both weak and strong, this mindset is abhorrent. It is faithful, Godly people who have helped lay the foundation of our society in which we don't kill the guilty straightaway and we take care of the weakest of our society. Notice how most hospitals were started by Christians? Perhaps our society has forsaken some of the religious structures but the mindset of honoring all people still (grudgingly) remains. That's Christianity in action.
Indeed, I think that this is where grace comes in. By grace we recognize that others have a right to life and liberty, not just the most powerful among us. The Ayn Rands of our culture probably would love this movie concept unconditionally, because it is a way of life based solely on the selfishness we can maintain. It might make sense for a year or two that a society does this...but to what end? Ultimately it denies the absolute sanctity of life, and whatever short-term gains that others be purged will be quickly overcome by the long-term destruction of any culture that systematically purges the weakest among themselves. Catharsis might feel good for a short time, but eventually it's like a drug...if once a year, why not once a month? Once a week? Why not just abolish all forms of civilization? I'm sure some would love this, but only the strongest and most selfish will survive. Not sure I'd want to stay alive for that.
I suppose in the end our scared selfishness, combined with our innate Christian compassion, is the reason why the Purge likely will not happen in our culture, at least in my lifetime. Someday this movie might seem to be accurately predictive, but hopefully it is as spot-on about the future as the Jetsons.
