Is it just me? Thoughts on three lives of not-so-quiet desperation
I generally do not engage in non-theological rants, or postings, for that matter, but…I’m sitting here reading Newsweek magazine and I’m once again assaulted/insulted by the latest news on Lindsey Lohan, Brittney Spears and Paris Hilton. And don’t tell me if I spelled their names correctly, or not. I don’t care. And that’s my point.
Why does anyone care about these spoiled degenerate young women? I think we should care about what kind of parenting they did, or, obviously, did not have. These are women whose every move is documented and zipped across the Internet. Why is it that "news" about them makes the headline news at my Yahoo home page? Why this endless fascination in watching these poor young women literally self-destruct before our very eyes?
I can think of few other depressing examples of the deep rot that has set into our culture than the fact that so much time is spent giving attention to these three. What we see here is the tragedy of women whose bank accounts are stuffed full, but whose souls are desperately empty. Perhaps that is the good purpose they serve. Where were their parents? How is that women barely "legal" can already have established criminal records and have spent time in and out of "rehab" for use of illegal drugs and overuse of alcohol. And anyone envies them? What helpless and pointless lives of not-so-quiet desperation they are leading. And this is news? This is worth our public attention? It’s so sad and tragic that it literally makes me sick to my stomach.
We must pray that somehow, in some way, the proclamation of Law and Gospel reaches these young women before it is too late. God have mercy on them, and on us, in a culture that "celebrates" this kind of spectacle. Your reaction? Is it just me?
I wrote about this too when Paris Hilton was the media fodder of the day. Amen Pr. McCain, these young people need our prayers, for they are lost and they are destroying themselves. We are watching them crash and burn, to be laughed at and finally to be spit on, flushed down the tubes when the media is done with them.
LP Cruz
Schadenfreude. It’s the same old sin with a modern media twist. There’s really nothing new under the sun.
I do pray for them. They are so young and completely without direction and accountability, and they are so glorified.
I am not surprised that you are being inundated with information in Newsweek. When Time did it’s article on pastor’s wives staying in touch on the internet, I looked high and low for a copy of Time in the stores. I don’t think I had realized that some time in the past several years, the checkout stand had replaced the big news magazines with all the women’s magazines and gossip rags. It didn’t seem like all that long ago, Time, Newsweek, and U.S. News and World Report had their place there, and now I couldn’t find a copy of any of them anyplace in Walmart, Meijer, or in the drugstores, even those with big magazine sections.
So, apparently in order to compete, they have decided that these girls are real news as well.
It is like watching the Minneapolis bridge collapse as it occurs, or the planes crash into the twin towers over and over and over again. We are so fascinated as a culture by the tragedy and bad behavior of others that we make heroes out of them. Underlying the coverage is a desire to see them conquer their demons, and overcome their weaknesses to celebrate the power of the human spirit, to glorify these people. After all they have brought so much joy and happiness (not to mention cultural depravity) to others.
Your recent post on Bishop Obare’s actions, and courage to stand up to the LWF and call a “thing what it is” underscores what is needed to combat this media deluge. Of course, calling sin sin, and bad behavior bad, would be derided as cold hearted and out of step with reality. Still it is the truth, and must be proclaimed.
Panem et circenses.
It’s the culture of celebrity. We know it well here in LA-LA land. Being famous for being infamous. It makes up for the obvious lack of talent. These are simply the death throes of cultural curvatus in se. It’s all about ME.
I agree 100%. This is why I quit watching television about 10 years ago, and do not even watch news. I read the Washington Post on-line – because that way I can skim through quickly and read what is important and relevant and do not get sucked in to the pop-culture. I wish I could say that this has had a positive influence on my own children… and maybe to some degree it has … they don’t care for these unfortunate women either… but my children are no longer at “that impressionable age”. They do still enjoy OTHER types of pop culture that I find equally disagreeable though.
The youth of America, in general, needs our prayers. As a substitute teacher at the High School level, I can see that our prayers are much needed on their behalf.