our lives have become so facilitated by all kinds of gadgets and amenities, yet instead of being simplified, they have become way too complicated (and meaningless). now, we (by 'we' i mean that percentage of the world's population which actually has access and enjoys fully this so-called 'modern life') don't try to survive and live day for day, scarcely meeting ends...no,we don't. and we don't know what it means to see your kids die because you couldn't provide for them, no, we don't. we don't comprehend the struggles and the human will to Survive, to Live, to Be, because we've been given a chance by birth (or so).
So, instead, we resort to more sophisticated ways of understanding the grudges, the hardships and 'tricks' of survival...entertainment.
Shows like 'Survivor' have become so popular all over the world. We admire the men and women who push themselves to extremes to 'survive'...and eventually win a million dollars or so...ye, but survivor is nothing like that! ...anyway, who wants to know. it's enough to see a few photos of starving children on the news, hear about hundreds of thousands of people 'displaced' (one might not even understand it well)...that exhausts our engagement in World Affairs, which are for politicians to solve... and then we can switch back to our Entertainment channel.
I'm not against entertainment in general. i suppose it is beneficial in some ways, enriching our lives or just helping us relax, but these particular forms of entertainment have exposed and perverted some of human's most honourable qualities, like will power, determination, vigour, courage etc. What do these shows encourage and inspire us for? Seeing how far a man can be pushed, the limits of his/her strength, will, hope? But it's all fake...because no one will be willing to do these things if there were no incentives. So, then, is this kind of show really displaying the heights of human courage and will power...or the depth of his/her desire to attain the prize (simply the greed for money)? I guess stimulation is not a bad thing, it is indeed necessary, since humans operate better when they are given a carrot, rather than nothing...but we are missing the point.
If you look closer in the news next time, and instead of ignoring or avoiding the faces of the displaced, the refugees, the starved, the underprivileged, the sick, and the weak...you will not see losers, but real life Survivors, heroes who have fought more battles than soldiers in wars have! Then you will be moved!
It is these people who aspire admiration and honour, the ones who Never give up, who strive to Survive on a daily basis...whose courage is beyond our understanding. These are the Survivors of this world. And this is NOT entertainment!
Don't encourage shows like 'Big Brother', which deprives people from growing and only engages them in meaningless gossip and trivial stories. Don't encourage shows like the World's Eating competition, during which, tons of food is wasted and which, despite all the food being devoured, leaves your mind and soul empty. Don't encourage shows like 'Survivor', or even 'Fear Factor', which despite being quite amusing and exciting, only prove the ultimate power of money to control people, to push them to do...just about anything.
When you wake up tomorrow, let your first words be of giving thanks, for just how blessed you truly are, and let your life not be 'devoured' by the media, 'consumed' by the multi-million corporations, but let it be moved and transformed by the stories of those to whom heaven belongs...the real survivors of this world. Jesus said,
" Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was in prison and you came to visit me....
'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me...' Matt.25:31-46
www.350.org"
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment