A Dystopian Society?

In the two years between retiring from teaching and going into full-time ministry I served as the Youth Services Supervisor for a library system. One of my favorite parts of this incredible job was ordering books and movies for the juvenile and teen sections of the library. Armed with catalogs and “free money,” I ordered several thousand dollars of materials each year.

Excited about introducing a new generation of young adults to my favorite teen lore, I was dismayed to see my beloved Sweet Valley High books remain uncirculated while copy after copy of The Hunger Games and the Divergent trilogy flew off the shelves.

Realistic fiction selections were in the minority but there was a plethora of dystopian society tales to choose from. Post-apocalyptic societies, factions, tributes…readers today are immersed in these alternate societies. Hollywood took notice and these sci-fi adaptations often skyrocket to the top of the charts on opening week-end.

But they’re just science fiction, right?

After today I’m not so sure.

Our ministry held a fish fry for a homeless mission in Biloxi. We had a great time and met some wonderful people. As we were leaving, though, we caught wind of a rumor that seems to have teeth.

The mayor of Biloxi, in his quest to clean up the city, has declared that he is passing an ordinance making it illegal to be on the street with less than $5 in your pocket. I thought this would be unconstitutional but in some states local ordinances are still on the books prohibiting you from doing such things as chewing bubble gum while walking down the street so I’m guessing he will get away with this. After three of these charges, you become a felon.

He’s already passed a law making it illegal to sit on the sidewalk. While this sounds absurd, Biloxi is only one of 100 cities in the U.S. who’ve enacted this sit-lie law in the past few years.

Where will they go? you ask. The mayor has a solution. He has a parcel of land on the outskirts of town where all homeless people will be required to go. They can pitch their tents or tarps at this location only.

They’ll have a curfew and be monitored by a “heavy police presence” daily.

Is this the solution?

It sounds a little dystopian to me. What will they announce next? Tributes from each tent to fight for daily food and water rations?

Others have compared it to concentration camps. Prisoners with invisible chains. Control disguised as charity.

What about the ministries? Private and government agencies designed to help the homeless run along the entire gulf coastline. Will the homeless be prohibited from seeking assistance? Will it become illegal for organizations to reach out?

In Ft Lauderdale it is. On October 22, 2014 the Florida city enacted a city-wide ban on “public food sharing.” By November 12, Love Thy Neighbor founder Arnold Abbott had been arrested for a third time for carrying out his nonprofit’s mission: feeding the homeless.

I never thought I’d see the day when the government had complete control over what I did in my personal walk with Christ.

Now THAT’S science fiction.