The Rebellion is About to Begin

I recently finished The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins.

Normally, I'd write a review on a book series I read, and I still might, but as I sat down to write it, I couldn't find the right words to describe it. I decided to write a blog post and share a little bit about what the series meant to me and what I gained from reading it.

When Collin's wrote the Hunger Games series, much more was on her mind than appealing to the crowds and fame, glory and success for her series. She wrote these books out of concern about where our world was heading and how often in our own little worlds we are blind to what is really happening. With this in mind, the Hunger Games is not an entertaining series. It's troubling. Scary, even. 

Katniss Everdeen is living in a world where the government and rich people are living it up and leaving the rest of the nation to starve, most without even realizing it. The Hunger Games is a spectacle, a reality TV show. I can almost hear a news reporter describing it: "To punish the nation for their rebellion, every year, 24 children of the districts will be thrown into an arena with little to no supplies and be forced to kill each other and, because of the Capitol's grace and mercy (you read right), the last man standing will be crowned victor. Who is the strongest? We'll find out!" 

We think of the Hunger Games as a fantasy, when in reality the world has created it's own Hunger Games many times in history. The Gladiators in Rome, the arenas where Christians would be martyred for their faith. Societies throughout history have created a Panem like world; leave the weak to die while the rest of us live in luxury. 

And in all this, two players of these games decide that enough is enough. Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark, two "Tributes" from District 12 decide to not let the Capitol make them "part of their games". Katniss is about to become the spark that will encourage the districts to stand up for what they know is right. As Suzanne Collins writes in Catching Fire, "At some point, you have to stop running and turn around and face whoever wants you dead. The hard thing is finding the courage to do it."

In many ways, I think that's why people love this series, myself included; because young people are starting to get sick of the complacency society wants to trap them in, causing them to forget the turmoil that makes up the world we live in. The reports are coming in from all over the world; young people taking up the call and making a change. Society is the capitol. We are the Mockingjays. We, like Katniss, need only to choose to be them. 

The Hunger Games isn't fantasy; it's very real. 

The rebellion is beginning. We need to make the choice to lead it, to stand up for our faith in Christ and for what's right, even when it may mean our very lives. 

The Game is about to begin, but this year, we're going to change the world. Are you with me?

Finnick: "Ladies and Gentelmen..." Katniss: "...let the seventy sixth Hunger Games begin!" ~Mockingjay