What has happened to our values? - Part 2

A couple of weeks ago, on June 25, 2009, my wife had a birthday. We then went to the Harrisburg Hospital to see my younger brother's newest child. On the way, we heard about the passing of Michael Jackson, the so-called "King of Pop." We can also note that Farrah Fawcett died that day, but that was no longer news after the report of Michael Jackson hit the airwaves.

As I saw news coverage that night, I saw throngs of people headed to the hospital where Michael Jackson died. People flocked to the Neverland Ranch to pay their last respects. People camped out around his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. We were flooded with images of people crying over his death. We were shown interviews with people who spoke of how much MJ had touched them with his music and his life, even though there was no personal contact between them. Congress is rushing to pass a resolution honoring the life of Jackson, but yet cannot pass any bill that would help out the average American.

But why are we treating him like this? His music had not been relevant to the pop music genre for at least 15 years. He had money troubles over the last few years (he was spending much more money than he had on hand). He definitely was in legal trouble. Why is their such a fuss about him?

I found it odd that 2 different ministers came out and spoke on his family's behalf: The Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. Al Sharpton. If these men were really men of God, then they would know that we should not idolize another fallible human being. Yet these two men did just that. Here they were, holding up a fallible man as if he had done no wrong throughout the course of his life, praising his accomplishments here on this earth.

Let us not forget that MJ was in all kinds of legal trouble for being a pervert, as he liked to have sleepovers with boys, even allowing them to sleep in his bed (in case you forgot, watch his interview with Martin Bashir from a few years ago). He was in trouble for molestation. Yes, he was acquitted, but who among us really believes that he is innocent of this? A lot of money changed hands in order for him to come away from these charges as not guilty.

The Staples Center held a lottery to see who would get tickets to his memorial service. From printed reports, approximately 1.4 million people registered online for 17000 available tickets. People are flying in from all over the country, from around the world, to be in L.A. for this service. Why? Do we really think that much of a singer what made a lot of money from singing songs, yet had not impact on us as people?

And then the media covers this spectacle as if nothing else is going on around us? We have war in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have a federal government that cannot control spending. We have a government that wants to push socialism on us. There are international issues with Korea and Honduras. The Democrats will have a filibuster-proof majority. Yet, the media is diverting our attention to the MJ service and away from these other much more important issues. Because the media knows that Americans have a short attention span and can pretty much be led around and told what to think.

As many people mourn the death of Michael Jackson today, I know of one person who is more than happy that this has happened: Gov. Mark Sanford. It got his name off of the front page. But what does this say about us? What have we become, that the death of an entertainer is the most important event on the earth?

What has happened to our values? - Part 1

Several weeks ago, America waited with baited breath as Jon and Kate Gosselin had an important announcement to make concerning their marriage on their "hit" reality show. We all knew what was coming. You did not need to be a MENSA member to see that they were going to separate. That information was all over the tabloids for many weeks prior to the official announcement.

I had not watched the show prior to this big announcement, but yet I found myself being drawn into this show in order to see what this big announcement was all about. During the show, the interviews with both Jon and Kate (they were interviewed separately) told the sad story of a couple that had grown apart. The rigorous existence that they lived as "reality stars" was finally getting to them.

The part that saddened me the most, though, was the fact that they would rather separate from each other and share custody of the children, rather than stop the show and work out the problems in their marriage. I guess Kate summed it up best when, answering a question regarding the continuation of the show, she said "The show must go on."

I am sorry, but I cannot believe that these people would call themselves Christians after putting on this kind of selfish display. Forget the fact that Jon was cavorting with young women at bars. Forget the rumors that Kate was having an affair with one of her bodyguards. These two people are putting fame and fortune above family. They are putting their own fame and fortune in front of their children's well-being. They are sacrificing the permanent on the altar of the immediate. They are allowing the American public to become voyeurs into their own little world.

I would hope that any group claiming to be a Christian group has dropped either one of these people from any speaking engagement that they may have previously been booked for. As Christians, we have had to put up with many people in the past who have claimed to have spoken for Christianity, but instead have brought upon us a bad name. Christians, it is time to stand up for what is right and Biblical, not what is popular and worldly/un-Biblical.