Troubled Entertainment Leads to Troubled Teens and Culture
Jul 2nd, 2009 by Trace
Troubled Entertainment Leads to Troubled Teens and Culture: I can’t help but believe that America’s reaction to Michael Jackson’s death is a pretty fair indicator of the priorities, character, and, ultimately, spiritual health of this nation. I totally understand mourning any death, regardless of who the individual is. However, I’m not sure the president would have received more media coverage than Michael Jackson is still receiving right now. Where was all the coverage for Mother Theresa? If a brilliant chemist, teacher, war hero, or philanthropist was to pass away today, would the coverage be a fraction of what Jackson has already received? Would people be holding candlelight vigils and making spectacles of themselves in their grief to the degree that was made over Michael Jackson? What if it was former president Bush who had died?
The reaction to Jackson’s death when compared to America’s reaction to Mother Theresa’s death seems to me tragic, but indicative of our times. It is an indicator of our warped priorities and shows that entertainment has a much greater value to Americans than moral values or eternal souls. Entertainment’s negative impact on our American way of life is evident. How many teenagers would rather emulate Michael Jackson, even with all his crazy issues, than the pope, Billy Graham, or George Washington? Why is the question almost laughable? It’s laughable because we have been brainwashed, even as adult parents, to believe that emulating MJ is much cooler than emulating the pope, Billy Graham, or a great statesman. That’s it, we value what’s cool—we value style over substance; emotion over reason; the carnal over the spiritual—failing to realize that we were not created to be physical beings occasionally have spiritual experiences, but rather spiritual beings having a physical experience. It’s a priority thing; it’s a worldview thing. We wonder why our kids have their priorities all screwed up. Many of us parents have helped our kids make heroes out of all the wrong people for accomplishing all the wrong things in all the wrong ways–because so many of us have done it ourselves for so long. We, ourselves, may never have cultivated a biblical worldview—all while thinking we have. We have many troubled teens in America, along with troubled parents. Could there be a link to the troubled lives and debauched entertainment of so many artists, such as Michael Jackson, and the struggling youth of America? Certainly this type of entertainment is no help for troubled Christian teens! It’s no help for troubled teens of any sort!
We have all been, to one degree or another, victims of our affluent culture. “Lord, don’t give me too much that I might forget you, or too little that I will steal.” It’s about balance. But, with affluence also comes a greater possibility of excesses in other areas of life—including entertainment—both legitimate and sinful entertainment—not only in amount, but in degree. Even legitimate entertainment becomes sinful when it becomes a god. Right now, America and the church are so far off balance when it comes to our entertainment, our worldview, and our attitude toward a Holy God that we have no problem exposing ourselves and our kids to entertainment that would have been unthinkable not so long ago—unthinkable! It’s the boiling-the-frog-slowly idea. Consequently, when someone objects to our music or entertainment, or when a vessel used for such debauched entertainment leaves this world, we are like alcoholics whose liquor has just been swiped from us. But what is even more tragic is that our kids are now even more addicted to entertainment than we are—and of the most perverse sort and variety. Michael Jackson certainly was nowhere near the worst; but, I believe that because of the young age group that was allowed to follow him, his influence, like that of Britney Spears, was the equivalent of nursing an infant on beer. And, if you watched the media coverage, you noticed there were a lot of very thirsty people conducting themselves in a very remorseful way from all age groups, ethnic backgrounds, and genders. The day Michael Jackson died, somewhere in America or around the world an American military veteran probably died too. But, when you consider what Michael Jackson contributed to America and mankind (or perhaps detracted) compared to what the veteran contributed to America or mankind, you just have to wonder where the veteran’s media mourners could be found. They could be found the same place our priorities could be found— seeking the next entertainment venue.
I have a feeling that if the average WWII “D” Day veteran knew that he was giving up his life so that Americans could be free to corrupt the youth of America with the kind of entertainment and lifestyles of today’s pop and rock stars, they never would have gotten off the landing crafts at Normandy! Yet, today’s parents, largely because of the slow half century seduction and desensitization of the entertainment industry’s moral standards, have unwittingly handed their kids minds, wills, emotions (their souls) and worldview over to the devil for the sake of a “good time”. And parents have paid out of pocket to do it! Unfortunately, parents are now paying for it in a myriad of other ways. And so has America as we once knew her.
University leaders and high-profile media personalities (people who are supposed to have brains) hale Jackson as a cultural icon. But they give little indication that his icon status was anything but positive. Adolph Hitler was an icon. One university leader stated on a national television broadcast that Jackson’s positive icon status shouldn’t be diminished because he had been acquitted of the one of the many child molestation cases alleged against him. For crying out loud, O.J. was acquitted! A Governor commits adultery (no acquittal necessary) and he is a disgraced bum. But, when we buy into the idea that pop stars are professional sexual deviants (among other things) it only furthers their mystique and career. Unfortunately reality has a way of putting things back in balance and perspective—God will not be mocked! Unfortunately, death captured Michael Jackson before jail did.
My point is that Americans are so mesmerized, hypnotized, and spiritually blinded to our addiction to entertainment, that we can’t see the forest for the trees. Because a guy can make us feel in touch with our carnality and make us feel good about it for the moment we can easily overlook the fact that overwhelming evidence links him to being a pedophile among other bizarre and illegal behaviors. He’s our hero anyway. After all, he’s a talented genius. I say, yes, he is a talented genius, just like the devil! It could be argued that Hitler was a genius, along with a myriad other dirt bags! It takes a talented genius to pull off the perfect murder or the perfect bank job—so what? Our sinful nature loves talent and genius no matter what side of eternity they might takes us—just ask John Dillinger, Al Capone, or your favorite rock or rap star. There is a part of us that admires them and wants to be just like them. It’s called our sinful nature. Unfortunately, what this nature can do to an individual, it can do to an entire culture—and it has.
People say all the time, “Americans aren’t stupid.” I disagree. We are very stupid. And the media has helped make us stupid. If we aren’t stupid, then we are at the very least foolish. We are a people of style over substance. We confuse all our knowledge and education with the very thing we lack and need so badly today. That “thing” is wisdom! Wisdom is the good we do with the knowledge, intelligence and education we have. There are a lot of educated derelicts out there. They are derelict because they refuse to come to the knowledge of the one true God. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. We are a nation that is too stupid, foolish, proud, busy, or entertained to fear the Lord.
We are so far away from God that anyone who is even remotely walking with God gets looked at like a fundamentalist right wing bible thumping nut case. You thump the bible and you’re a nutcase; you grab your crotch in front of millions of people, sire children out of wedlock, sleep with children and grab their crotches, disfigure your face, abuse drugs, dabble in the occult, and blow a half billion dollars before your 50th birthday, you become a cultural icon.
When we watch Michael Jackson perform, or when we listen to many of his songs, we need to ask ourselves, “Am I being entertained by a spirit that is leading me closer to God or further from God? Am I being entertained by something that is actually grieving the heart of God? Is the worldview that this entertainer promotes through his music on a spiritual level affecting my worldview? Is the fantasy of some of the story lines within his music just harmless fun or is there something deeper going on–something spiritual?” Do I dare purchase his CDs just for the songs that appear innocuous or will I somehow expose myself to something that will give me an appetite for all of it—regardless of its content? Am I making a god out of Michael Jackson or any other entertainer or music for that matter?”
His personal lifestyle aside, I would never say that Michael Jackson’s music is overtly the more dangerous music on the contemporary scene by far. But it certainly heads further in that direction when one adds his videos to the performances. However, what makes it more dangerous than most people realize is that little kids—and I mean little kids—are acquiring appetites for this stuff. And parents think it is innocuous—mostly because the parents like it too. And when an appetite is acquired, now, like drugs, it makes it much easier to accept the “Bitches and Ho’s and ‘F’ the police” music of guys like Snoop Dog and Eminem. This is not to mention the debauched music of any, dare I say most, contemporary music today. But, is everything we like healthy for us? Think about the myriad of things we Americans like that are killing us physically very slowly. The devil doesn’t mind killing you slowly spiritually as long as the same spiritual death results!
In addition to recreationally dabbling in cults, the occult, drugs, plastic surgery, and who knows what other kinds of other sexual deviancies, the guy was just plain weird. Being weird doesn’t mean that he shouldn’t be recognized for his legitimate and constructive contributions to society—recognized, yes; idolized, no! By the way, I’m sure Jackson donated more money to over 30 charities than I will probably make in several lifetimes. Just keep in mind that Capone, Dillinger, and the like, did the same kind of thing. For the crooks, it was an image thing. For Jackson, the image thing was a windfall. When you make as much money as he did, giving away money is a business and public relations must. I have much more to say on the subject, but this has already gone longer than I wanted it to. Just let me say one more thing. Why would we idolize a guy who we wouldn’t even let baby sit our kids? The truth, however, is that Jackson, and so many others far worse than him, already have! They still babysit in our cars and in our homes via radio, video, ipod, DVD players, television, and a myriad of other ways. And their worldviews are getting into our kids’ heart, minds, and spirits. How many unexplained hang ups and strongholds do we have as adults that have come as a direct result of some of the trash that we have already exposed ourselves to? It wasn’t a blip on the radar compared to what our kids are being exposed to today. And they are getting it everywhere and all the time!
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