“When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.” – Proverbs 29:2 (ESV)

In the movie The Matrix, there is a confrontation between Morpheus — the guide who helps Thomas Anderson become Neo — and Agent Smith, the nondescript enforcer of the meta-construct. Smith has taken Morpheus captive and is trying to get the codes from Morpheus to enter and destroy Zion. Here’s what he says:

AGENT SMITH: I hate this place. This zoo. This prison. This reality, whatever you want to call it, I can’t stand it any longer. It’s the smell, if there is such a thing. I feel saturated by it. I can taste your stink and every time I do, I fear that I’ve somehow been infected by it.”

This scene has stayed in my memory from the first time I saw it, and it has come to mind again recently as I have had the misfortune of reading or watching the news.

A not-so-frightening vision of the future.

The ruling elite

In his book, Coming Apart, sociologist Charles Murray traces the diverging paths of two groups of white Americans — the high-school-educated (or less) residents of Fishtown and the college-and-beyond residents of Belmont — over five decades. The book is definitely worth reading in its entirety, but one of Murray’s most significant observations concerns the emergence of what he calls the cognitive elite.

These are the graduates of the most prestigious colleges and universities, the one percent as they are also known, and they live in a surprisingly small number of zip codes clustered around Washington, DC, New York and Los Angeles. Note those locations, as they are the principal centers of journalism, entertainment and government. Murray’s thesis is that these comparatively few citizens set the policy and the tone for the rest of the country, while they have less and less in common with the ones to whom they offer their prescriptions.

Enter the Matrix

With few exceptions, there has been very little in the way of push-back from citizens while the demands of government — aided and promoted by the news media and popular entertainment — have grown more and more hostile to the needs of individuals and local communities. If you question this, please consider as one piece of evidence the executive branch’s use of executive orders in lieu of working with the legislative branch. Both parties have done this.

Or consider the passage of the Affordable Care Act — thousands of pages hastily written and largely unread by our elected officials, but pushed through by brute force by the majority party and saved from itself by the Supreme Court. Oh, and did I mention that the same representatives exempted themselves from the requirements of the law they passed?

This hardly seems like the servant leadership that is necessary for the functioning of a constitutional republic. In fact, it seems as though the ruling elite have dropped all pretense and are now openly expressing disdain for those who are outside their circle.

You can see the wires, right?

If you’ve watched low-budget science fiction from the 1960’s on a high definition television, you’ve probably seen the wires used to make the model spacecraft fly. Nothing spoils that suspension of disbelief faster.

What’s telling is that the disdain from the ruling class — this showing the wires — is further evidence of their contempt. Apparently they believe you are too numb or too preoccupied to notice, but even if you did — what would you do about it?

Oh, the Irony!

Let’s take a moment to list just a few of the ways our supposed betters have succeeded in reshaping our country:

• Americans are overweight and obese — thanks to the dietary guidelines provided by the government
• Americans lag educationally — thanks to nationalization of educational standards
• Americans are largely dependent on government assistance — thanks to reclassifying otherwise able-bodied unemployed adults as disabled.
• Americans are unemployable — thanks to government policies that reduce opportunity and make it more profitable for companies not to hire and for individuals not to work
• Fatherlessness is a crisis especially among the poor — thanks to government assistance that penalizes married, two-parent families

So you can see, I hope, the irony of the ruling elites’ Pyrrhic victory — they have sown seeds liberally (*ahem*) only to despise the harvest from those seeds. Whether witting or unwitting, their project over the past fifty years or more has been to demolish the very institutions and influences that provide order and stability, then to disparage the ones trusting enough to implement their guidance. This is Agent Smith complaining about the smell of The Matrix.

Isn’t this supposed to be encouraging?

You’re right, this is for your encouragement. But realize that friends sometimes have to deliver a painful message. I do have some practical suggestions that I hope will help you to question and to be more street-smart about instructions from any central authority.

• Think for yourself –Don’t spread gossip or rumors. Get the facts and make up your own mind. Note that many times the first attempt to control you is with fear. Stare it down.
• Seek wisdom — Consult dependable sources. When Paul the apostle visited the first century town of Berea, the good people there listed to what Paul said and compared it to the scriptures before believing it. This is your model.
• Stay informed — There has never been a better time to break the information cartel. The internet remains a treasure because it allows individuals to bypass spin and investigate more thoroughly. As one suggestion, consider looking at the websites for European newspapers. You’ll be able to compare their coverage to that of US papers and see what they consider newsworthy and what facts deserve emphasis.
• Tell your friends — Even the Lone Ranger had Tonto. You won’t change much if you can’t convince your crew. So start there.
• Be a good citizen — This means taking advantage of your God-given rights to speak freely, to assemble peaceably and to petition your government. Register and cast an informed ballot. Hold leaders to a higher standard. They wanted the job — let them earn the right to keep it. I have started to view our two-party system the way I view professional wrestling I still vote, though.
• Local, local, local — Strive to make your community as functional as possible. Patronize local businesses. Cultivate friendships across typical divides. Volunteer through your local church. Get to know the candidates for mayor, city and county council and sheriff — vote for the ones who share your values. Community in all its connotations is still important.

It’s still possible for each of us to become the best possible version of himself. If we do this, it breaks the power of the Matrix by making it largely irrelevant.

So how about you? In what ways are you working to become your best? Add your comments below.