I was driving home last night and I started to look at all the billboards and signs along the road. I mean I really saw them. I know most of the time we just drive right by all of hoopla and rhetoric on the side on the road. Our lives have become a three ring advertising circus. I feel like I am being bombarded by the world everywhere i turn. I can't even go to the bathroom in a lot of places without seeing advertisement on the back of the stall door.. knowing that we are a captive audience is their reward and our downfall. TV, Radio, the paper, email and even our "beloved" facebook. I was thinking that if I were an alien coming down to this planet I would feel like that I stepped into the biggest junk pile/flea market in the universe. We are destroying our planet. I know that we have heard this from numerous sources over the years.. but we truly are. I am not a tree hugger, however the deforestation of the rain forest is an atrocity. One of which we will not survive. If we do not replenish our resources we will have nothing left to give our children and their children. We are being selfish and stingy. Our government is the worst example of this continuing to spend billions fighting for oil when we have the ingenuity to run a car on cooking oil and kudzu! I don't want to live on a planet that is full of filth and trash. I can't even go up in the Smokies without inhaling the exhaust that is now making them that way. If you were that alien I was talking about what would you think about us? I don't know about you but I know when I go into a flea market or junk store I am overwhelmed by not only excitement on finding a treasure but the overwhelming sense that most of it is trash. We are trash.. the trash that we put into our bodies.. high fructose corn syrup and red dye is not a proper food source nor is over fried goodies and treats.. We treat ourselves everyday instead of nourishing our bodies. Do you really need that 500 calorie coffee drink, or that 1200 calorie burger? Do you smoke, drink, drink soda? We are poisoning ourselves on a daily basis with unnecessary preservatives and toxins that we allow in our food. We are poisoning our planet with fossil fuel and dumping our toxic waste into our own drinking water. The ash spill in Kingston was a glaring example of this. Going back to cutting down the rain forests. Our trees and plants are natural filters. Their literal job is to remove the toxins from the air. And we are destroying them! There is a balance to nature. You know what it feels like to be out of balance. Not feeling quite right. Sick to your stomach, headache, dizzy. Imagine what this planet feels like. It is having growing pains with our booming population, using up all her precious resources left and right, stripping her of her dignity. God put us in charge of this planet and we are doing a piss poor job of taking care of his awesome creation. Our earth probably feels noxious and sick all the time with no cure. Most importantly we are trashing our souls. Trash in=Trash out. Most of us can watch a violent movie and walk away, but not everyone can. Why do we subject ourselves to the equivalent of soft core porn and violence on a "family" show.
An average American child will see 200,000 violent acts and 16,000 murders on TV by age 18 [15].
Two-thirds of all programming contains violence [16].
Programs designed for children more often contain violence than adult TV [17].
Most violent acts go unpunished on TV and are often accompanied by humor. The consequences of human suffering and loss are rarely depicted.
Many shows glamorize violence. TV often promotes violent acts as a fun and effective way to get what you want, without consequences [18].
http://www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/tv.htm The University of Michigan Health system.
200,000 violent acts and 16,000 murders before we are 18. What about after that? How much violence and destruction does a person see in a life time? What about at home these are television stats, what happens when our families are falling apart. Abusers get away with practical murder every day. We don't protect ourselves from each other nor do we remember how to treat someone with respect. We do not respect ourselves or others by watching filth, listening to filth or passing on filthy stories to each other. I am not immune to this nor do I l deny about ever being part of things like this. There comes a time where we have to choose who we are. Are you someone that readily absorbs garbage and spews it back out, or are you willing to put at least a minimal effort into your life and be upstanding, giving respect garners respect.
I was trying to tune in my radio station to my favorite christian station Air one love 89.1 and the Red Hot Chile Peppers were breaking through. Nothing wrong with them but that is just an example of how the world breaks through even when we are trying to keep God in our hearts. Like Christine Caine said at Faith Promise Church this weekend.. We are to be in this world not of it.. Which are you today.. in it or of it?
