Eclipsing Reality : The Great American Eclipse of 2017 | The Daily Dose – 8/21/2017

 

 

This morning, the sun rose above a disillusioned and demoralized America; a nation divided. After almost two decades of war, a rapidly changing social landscape, and the deep wounds inflicted on the body politic during the last election cycle, Americans are desperate for a distraction from the darkness enveloping the spirit of the nation.

As the Great American Eclipse of 2017 approaches, millions of people from across the nation are making long pilgrimages to small destinations from Oregon to South Carolina just to witness this total eclipse of the sun.

This is the first total solar eclipse visible in the US in almost four decades and the first since 1776 whose path of totality will stay completely within the United States. 200 million people are a day’s drive away from the path of totality and because of this, the eclipse is expected to be the most observed solar eclipse in history.

To be sure, it is a rare event, but the enormous amount of  media hype and subsequent public obsession still seem a bit excessive. I think there may be something a bit deeper driving the public’s eclipse frenzy than just the spectacle in the skies above America today.

America is a nation in the midst of unprecedented social and political upheaval. She is a nation battered by war, weary of Washington politics, and divided by an utter breakdown in public discourse. The American people are desperate for a distraction from the doom and gloom of the manufactured mainstream news cycle clogging their social media feeds. In a time when our world is increasingly manufactured in this digital age, it’s no wonder people far and wide are flocking to see The Great American Eclipse.

The eclipse is real. 

The Great American Eclipse is an event people can experience in reality as opposed to the manufactured matrix of the online universe in which our culture increasingly resides. It’s a chance to be part of something more visceral than just a social media feed.

But, most of all, today’s darkened sky is a mass distraction from the dark cloud of division looming over the nation. A real distraction from manufactured reality.

Ancient people viewed such celestial events as signs, warnings, and omens of things to come. Indeed, many today believe such events serve such a purpose. Though I’ve seen a lot of talk online recently about the eclipse signaling ‘Doomsday’, ‘The Apocalypse’, and even the complete destruction of America, I prefer to take a more positive view.

During The Great American Eclipse, the nation will be briefly covered by darkness. Yet, after that darkness, the light will shine on the land once again. Call me optimistic, but maybe that’s the message the eclipse is sending us. The light will ultimately drive out the darkness, and we need not give up hope. As the nation gathers today, eagerly awaiting the darkness to divide the light, perhaps what they’re really waiting for is a sign that light will indeed emerge from the darkness that surrounds her.

 

Melissa Dykes of Truthstream Media thinks it’s strange that millions are making quasi-pilgrimages to be in the path of totality of The Great American Eclipse of 2017.

Truthstream Media | YouTube | TruthstreamMedia.com

 

 

 

 

 

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; Only love can do that. 

|Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.|