Amusing Ourselves to Death

More than forty years ago in his prophetic book Amusing Ourselves to Death, Neil Postman contrasted the opposing futures imagined in the novels 1984 by George Orwell and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley. He warned that “an Orwellian world is much easier to recognize, and to oppose, than a Huxleyan future.”

The last chapter of his book is titled “Huxleyan Warning.” It ends with this final somber paragraph about Huxley’s book: “For in the end, he was trying to tell us that what afflicted the people in Brave New World was not that they were laughing instead of thinking, but that they did not know what they were laughing about and why they had stopped thinking.”

The characters in Brave New World were living in a world of pleasure where they no longer knew what they were laughing at or why they had quit thinking. In other words, they were amusing themselves to death.

That is exponentially more true today than it was then. To counter that alluring siren song, we must first ask God to break our desire for endless entertainment and mindless pleasure. Once we’re free, we can create art that helps others start thinking, begin hoping, and experience an awakening to God’s greater reality.

One last thought. If today’s reading resonated, take a moment now to email or share it with a fellow creative, friend or family member who could use the encouragement.

Want More?
Order your copy of Risk the Real