Airports are fascinating places. In crowded terminals, both the best and worst of humanity is on display. There are happy families headed on vacation and bickering families returning home. Some passengers are aglow with the joys of world travel, while others are enraged by the inefficiencies and inevitable delays such travel often entails.
I typically read books on planes. But for the last leg of a recent trip, I elected to watch some classic movies instead. From my seat, I had a line of sight to a middle-aged man in the row ahead of me. Before we even left the gate, he turned on a conservative news station, and he watched it intently for the duration of our nearly four-hour flight. As my attention flickered between my screen and his, I noticed a stark contrast.
A Tale of Two Screens
My first pick was City Lights (1931), a silent film starring Charlie Chaplin about a tramp who falls in love with a blind woman. It’s a study in simplicity as the two characters come to better appreciate the little joys of life—a flower, quiet companionship, love—that transcend their unfavorable circumstances. It’s a beautiful film, made even more moving by its lack of dialogue.
While I watched the charming comedy, I occasionally glanced through the seats and noticed a series of provocative news headlines flashing across the other man’s screen about how this or that politician was clearly intent on ruining America and all we hold dear. With arms crossed, the man would shake his head in disgust at each inflammatory story.
Next on my watchlist was It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), the classic starring James Stewart (PSA: if we applaud a redeemed Ebenezer Scrooge for honoring Christmas in his heart all year round, then it’s perfectly acceptable to watch a Christmas movie in summer!). The beloved holiday film tells the story of George Bailey (Stewart), a troubled man who is contemplating committing suicide on Christmas Eve. Then an angel appears and shows him a vision of what the world would look like if he had never existed. Bailey suddenly becomes aware of the many ways his simple life has had a positive impact on his family and community.
As I watched Bailey hug his wife and adoring children, a quaint Christmas tree aglow behind them, I couldn’t help but think of the contrast between my experience and that of the stranger in front of me. I suspect we both hold conservative values and are troubled by what is happening in the world today. Yet while I enjoyed a beautiful story that showcased the values I cherish, my fellow passenger had been worked into a fury toward those he believed were attacking those same values.
In nearly four hours, I never saw a positive headline about anything conservative. It was a perplexing irony to witness a conservative news station seemingly focused exclusively on liberal and progressive politics!
In contrast, It’s a Wonderful Life doesn’t offer a biting critique of liberal culture. Rather, it reminds viewers of the simple beauty a conservative life offers. Yes, there’s a hefty dose of sentimentality, and it’s a work of fiction. But it showcases the way of life the news headlines claimed was being corrupted by today’s cultural trends.
Think Upon Such Things
The apostle Paul wrote, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8). Paul wasn’t blind to his culture’s failures (a man isn’t repeatedly tossed into prison for passively accepting the world as it is). But those evils never defined his outlook, nor did he show hostility toward those who perpetrated them.
In Athens, when directly confronting pagan culture, Paul didn’t rant and rave about everything he disliked. Rather, with grace and respect, he pointed his audience to reflections of the good, true, and beautiful contained in their fictional mythology (Acts 17). He didn’t exhort them to change because they were wrong but because he had something much better to offer them.
The Christian philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote, “Make religion attractive, make good men wish it were true, and then show that it is. Worthy of reverence because it really understands human nature. Attractive because it promises true good.” Despite being a brilliant intellectual and mathematician, Pascal understood that the head is downstream of the heart. Elevate the good life, and people will long to experience it for themselves.
Something Worth Conserving
News stations inflame passions, but they don’t resonate with the heart. They provoke strong emotions, but they don’t cultivate love. Political punditry breeds anti-liberal anger more than it cultivates affection for conservativism. Shaking a finger at the apparent enemies of Christ’s kingdom isn’t the same as pointing people toward the good, true, and beautiful that radiates from Christ’s own heart.
Rather than adding more fuel to the culture war, we need stories that remind us of what we are striving to conserve. We don’t pluck weeds because we despise them. We pull weeds to preserve the beauty and vibrancy of our garden.
It’s not sinful to watch the news. Ignoring the symptoms of a fallen world is disorienting and irresponsible. But it may be that watching a two-hour movie like It’s a Wonderful Life is more edifying than spending countless hours shaking our head at the rage bait that too often defines today’s headlines. News that merely fuels anger and affirms what we already believe isn’t really “news.” We need more stories that remind us of the good, true, and beautiful.
Living the Life We Want to Protect
It’s a Wonderful Life filled me with a desire to be home with my family, to hold my wife and children (and, yes, my dog) in my arms, and to bless my community. As the end credits played, I wasn’t angry at the world. Instead, I was filled with pity that—like many characters in the films I watched—people have become blind to the beauty around them.
We don’t need more anger, division, and finger pointing. Our spiritual bellies are stuffed with enough of that junk food. What we need are stories that inspire us to live up to the ideals we claim to cherish. My fellow passenger saw all the problems in the world today, and anxiety was etched into his face. As I drove home amid the glow of the city lights, I felt peace. I was encouraged that even in our fallen world, it really is a wonderful life.
