Letter | `Big Brother’ is here! But those who follow Jesus shouldn’t be alarmed.

Attention law enforcement, would-be-criminals, and all citizens – Big Brother is here!

For me, it is easy to enjoy ‘CBS This Morning’ from 7 to 7:15 am for two reasons: It is usually hard news and there are normally no commercials, or as the British unaffectionately refer to them, “adverts.”

It seems one of the typical strategies of news agencies in this land is to beat a dead horse, deader. In other words, stay on a trending theme ‘til every one in the land not only knows it but is sick to death about it. Some of this news is necessary.

A recent story that keeps coming up, courtesy of cellphone video, is the disturbing images of law enforcement either shooting or beating a person they should just be arresting.

When I was a kid in the late 1960s, required reading was a novel by George Orwell entitled, “1984.” He wrote it in 1948 right around the time the television was being invented; it was brought into mainstream American life in the 1950s.

Big Brother was what became a controlling force with everything being on camera. Well, Big Brother has officially arrived. He has come in the way that was suggested by Orwell via the camera and TV.

How, you say?

First, let’s start with the movement for all police to have cameras on their person. This is being touted at the federal level to make it mandatory.

Second is the widespread use of smartphones and their ability to shoot footage of just about anything, anywhere.

Third, a lot of major cities already have the ability to see digitally – in real-time – what is happening on any street in their cities. Corporations, Casinos, university, schools and factories, etc. are following suit.

Why?

The answer is simple: because man is not basically good.

Left to his own devices, man and his own insufficient ability to self-govern and stay on a stable path would, and will, wander and in time implode or explode.

George Washington said “It is impossible to rightly govern without God and the Bible.”

If that statement contains verity, then would it not be wise to return this great book and prayer to the public schools?

On the news the other day, I saw that there was a movement to return prayer to the public schools in Horry County.

What are you suggesting, sir, you may ask.

The only way out of the real mess we are in is The Way himself, Jesus Christ.

Find Him for yourself and walk with Him and you will never need to be concerned about Big Brother – because you will have found the one who is closer than a brother.

The writer lives in Myrtle Beach.

This story was originally published April 21, 2015 at 1:57 PM with the headline "Letter | `Big Brother’ is here! But those who follow Jesus shouldn’t be alarmed.."