THE Christian season of Lent is a time for quiet reflection on the nature of sin.
In the build-up to Easter, Christians reflect on the inevitable imperfections of our species. It is a time to come to terms with our collective failings, and to prepare for them in advance. We know that human beings are easily seduced by easy answers and easy money. It is all too easy to do the wrong thing. Humility is the only response.
Yet humility has never been less popular than it is today.
Our public life is dominated by politicians and corporations who promise the earth.
It’s not popular to stand up and say there are no easy answers to the problems we face.
Indeed, when the problems become more intractable, the puffed-up promises of progress resonate more.
We know that health outcomes are falling even as spending goes up. We know that more people are homeless even though we build increasing numbers of homes. We know that more of our children have learning difficulties despite spending more than ever on education support.
Despite this, our public figures are addicted to proffering hope.
Imagine standing up and admitting you don’t have a clue.
Imagine telling the public that you know it’s a mess and will only get worse.
Imagine advising that hard choices must be made (and losing the vote!)
Progressivism fuels cynicism and we are living with an abundance of both.
Here’s a step-by-step guide to the progressive playbook with an example of what can go wrong.
Progressive step 1: Eliminate all disease and the associated inconvenience of illness. Ensure everyone gets a standard dose of immunity delivered via vaccines that are logged in a little red book.
Progressive step 2: Deny any negative side effects. Overlook the benefits of testing and strengthening natural immunity by fighting disease. Overlook the extent to which human diversity manifests in response to the jabs. Silence anyone in authority who points all this out.
Progressive step 3: Ignore the rise in immune-related ill health. Call it idiopathic or genetic or a lifestyle decision. Support the sick with benefits and services that keep them alive. Ignore all the science that points to the role of a faltering immune system and the link to ill-health.
Progressive step 4: Stick to the plan even when there are more people off work than in work and more people needing care than can care. Watch the debt build up while public services and society start to collapse.
Progressive step 5: Indulge in repeated reorganisations of the health, care, education and welfare systems so people think you are getting a grip. Produce long complicated plans for reform that will never be implemented before they are overtaken by political change and/or further service collapse. Look busy reorganising the chairs on the policy deck and hope that no one notices the ship going down (and if it does, that it’s not on your watch!)
Progressive step 6: Launch new progressive causes to which people can attach themselves. Be ready to do this with increasing frequency as the problems get worse. Stoking fear and anger about things like climate collapse, colonial history, racism, biological sex and deadly disease shows you what can be done.
Progressive step 7: Ensure the progressive light shines until there’s no sanity left and no one knows what is right.
Being an autism parent means you see the dark side of the progressive lies that are told. You come to realise the power of Lent.
This Lent please pray that future generations are spared the same fate.
This article appeared in the Autism Tribune on March 3, 2026, and is republished by kind permission.
