Wonder and Liberty

In Terrence Malek’s 2013 film “To the Wonder,” the recluse director attempts to share his spiritual vision of “wonder” with the audience. Known for his abstract messaging and visionary cinematography, Malek’s most recent flick garnered both praise and criticism. Roger Ebert, in the last movie review he filed before his unfortunate passing, described the film as defying convention. He writes, a “more conventional film would have assigned a plot to these characters and made their motivations more clear.” But then Ebert asks, “[W]hy must a film explain everything?”Malek’s prime focus was creating a sense of wonder for the viewer to partake in. It was left purposefully unclear - just how deep and meaningful messages should be.In the modern age of instant communication and digital know-how, nuance and mystery are retreating at an increasing pace. With smartphones, unlimited information is always at your fingertips. We have a desperate need for instant answers. Attention spans have become wracked. Knowledge is spreading like wildfire through a dense forest of grid-like connections; with electronic synapses going off every second.When something comes along that defies our known world, we are left wondering how such a thing can happen given all our technological blessings. Our elites in the high echelons of government and media, not used to things being uncertain, tend to freak out. The best illustration of this has been the ongoing search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. The ill-fated airliner went missing on May 8, 2014 on its way from Kuala Lumpur International Airport  to the Beijing Capital International Airport. For over two weeks, the plane remained undetected by all surrounding radar. The whole event was treated like an international crisis.Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak recently broke the news that the plane crash-landed somewhere in the Indian Ocean. There are supposedly no survivors ; though questions on the final outcome still remain. All in all, the governments of 26 different countries aided the search for the missing commercial jet. Conspiracy theories popped up everywhere. Explanations ranged from terrorism to a supernatural occurrence. The internet served as a forum for extreme speculation with one central question: how could this possibly happen?The most remarkable thing about the whole event is how an object so large and so regulated was able to elude governments the world over. An airplane with over 230 people on board simply vanished from our collective knowledge. At the office, at the bar, in restaurants, at the family dinner table, all talk is focused on how something so routine could get knocked off of its predetermined course so easily.Ever since whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed the enormous surveillance panopticon administered largely by the National Security Agency, we assume our digital footprint is monitored at all times. Onboard airline computers should be no different. Uncle Sam and his counterparts are supposed to have this kind of stuff under control. Yet, here is an instance where the vast surveillance network established by various governments is impotent. Control finally escaped their grasp.The agony felt by families searching for loved ones aboard the plane is very real, and prayers should go out to them. But it’s hard not to make an important observation about the incident: there is still mystery to be had in the world. Not everything is easily explainable. And, perhaps most importantly, the governments that oppress us do not have such a tight stranglehold on existence. They are just as flawed as the imperfect people who run them.The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 is a smack in the face of behemoth state authority. It shows that monolithic strength is not impenetrable. Government’s job is to control what’s currently in its possession, and expand from there. Anything that eludes its grip - whether it be supposed “traitors” like Snowden, independent journalists, classified documents, natural resources, or a deviant foreign power - is seen as a failure.The greatest fear for anyone who values liberty and human rights is a government large enough to control individual lives to the point of extreme tyranny. Unrestrained state power inevitably leads to violence, death, and misery. On a broader level, it also leads to conformity, blandness, and the sheer automation of society. Any sense of “wonder” is wiped away in favor of activities that support the state. Those ruled are not viewed by their masters as beings of moral worth and potential; they are seen simply as tax cattle to be beefed up with hormonal injections of “national pride” and propaganda highlighting the need for government domination.We know from communism’s strict adherence to brute form and unoriginality that imagination has no place under an authoritarian regime. Everything must be planned. Government doesn’t allow for wonder; it doesn’t allow for mystery; and it doesn’t allow for things to escape its all-encompassing vision.The search for Malaysia Flight 370 showed that there are still pockets of the world that aren’t under the Sauron-like eye of government. On a broader level, it showed that not everything is so easily discoverable. The pursuit of knowledge is a great thing; but it’s easily corrupted by those who wish to hurt others. That is why prudence and caution should be paid to turning over rocks in search of the unknown. We have a need to figure out the truth of all things. But sometimes the truth of the matter is we can’t know it all. The drive to discover everything and improve the human condition can lead to pitfalls and unintended consequences. We can become slaves to intricacy, and to the devices that give the state access to our personal lives.In his writing collection Tremendous Trifles, G.K. Chesterton noted that “world will never starve for want of wonders, but only for want of wonder.” He was referencing how we tend to get hung up on the little things - small wonders - without thinking about the big picture; thus we miss out on a greater meaning beyond seemingly coincidental occurrences. Almost everyone was left in a state of wonder over the disappearance of a normal commercial airliner. But hardly anyone who witnessed the incident, sad as it was for the victims involved, saw it as a sign that our marionette dictators in government had also been foiled. It’s as if a movie played right in front of our eyes, yet nothing was explicitly explained. It has been up to us to discover the meaning beyond the news headlines.Perhaps this is the takeaway: not everything is so dire; and the world isn’t so gloomy. There is still wonder out there, if we only choose to look for it. Let’s hope the families of the missing find closure, should things not turn out well. But let’s also hope this dent in the state’s armor can be further widened into something that will eventually pave the way for peace and liberty.Receive access to ALL of our EXCLUSIVE bonus audio content – including “Conspiracy Corner”, “Degenerate Gamblers” and the “League of Liberty Podcast” by joining the Lions of Liberty Pride and supporting us on Patreon!