Ok, I need to rant. Ignore this post if you don't want to "hear" it. I know that many people won't agree with my thoughts, and that's ok.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH OUR SOCIETY?!?!?!?!
2 examples:
>At any red carpet or celebrity photo shoot anywhere for anything these days, you see more and more revealing clothing. Most appalling are the completely sheer dresses that have sewn-in doilies to cover the sweet spots. Also, what is with so many celebs wearing no more than underwear anymore? Or for a lot more people, not even dressing up for special occasions/appearances?
>A couple of weeks ago, (before the horrid cold) my family was driving home from the grocery store. On the corner, we saw a teen-ish looking young lady sitting at the corner, holding a cardboard sign that read: "pregnant and need money to pay for rent and food" (!!). A couple of corners later, at the off ramp for the freeway, we saw a similar-aged young man holding another cardboard sign, asking for money.
>>WHAT HAPPENED TO HEALTHY PRIDE IN ONESELF? OR DECORUM, OR ACTING APPROPRIATELY, OR TAKING RESPONSIBILITY FOR OUR ACTIONS?
>>>WHAT HAPPENED TO BEING "YOUR BEST SELF?"
When did it become ok for porn models to walk around in every day society (or at all)? When did it become popular to dress down? Do these celebs (and others) really have no respect for themselves? Because that is what this behavior shows.
When did "pushing the envelope" become more the norm than the exception?
Why would a young lady think it ok to use her pregnancy to seek pity and handouts from people? Her choices are what put her there! She should have thought about all of the consequences of her actions, and taken responsibility long ago. Granted, crap happens. If she genuinely needs help, why is she sitting on the corner begging for money instead of going to one of the MANY organizations there are for people in her (and other) situation(s)?
What happened to the pride of and desire to be able to completely take care of oneself? What happened to being embarrassed by the thought of asking for help? What happened to taking responsibility for one's actions and control of one's life? What happened to busting your butt to get the job done? Have we no work ethic anymore? When did our society start putting the blame and responsibility for individual lives on everyone and everything BUT the individual?
Someone I talked to the other day told me that certain situations just make life hard. I agree. Especially in this area where I live, where seasonal work and rural-ness(?) cause a lot of hardships and poverty. However, why can't people start planning ahead in order to be prepared for hard times, instead of waiting for them to come, then complaining about them? Figure out a long-term plan! I know plenty of very hard-working people who, after many many years, are still not ahead, but they are getting by, even if barely. It's because they keep at it, day after day. It may not be their ideal situation, but they are at least living and working, and can feel great about their efforts!
I get that a lot of this has come from people rebelling against so many societal rules and judgements. We can all be pretty brutal. It seems no matter how you portray yourself, you can (and probably will) be faulted in some way or another. But when did it become more popular to have too-low standards than too-high standards? Why is it more popular to be "bad?" A lot of us have that rebellious desire to throw out all the rules. But has rebellion really become such a life aspiration?
What happened to the desire for accomplishment? of succeeding at reaching a difficult goal? of becoming better and better? Why has our society succumbed to settling? And to feeling so much entitlement? No one "owes" us anything! We deserve to be happy and be loved, it's true. However, no one can or should be forced to give either of those things to anyone.
I know that I am a naturally judgy person. I've realized it's because I recognize my faults and weaknesses, and am really working on trying to better myself, and tend to expect the same from others. I'm naturally lazy, and I'm passive-aggressive. I'm working on it. I'm trying to improve myself. I've learned that I, and all people, mostly just need love. There's not enough of the real thing going around in the world today. But when did forced tolerance get put into the same picture? If a person does not accept and support everyone and everything, that person is intolerant and hateful. COME ON, NOW!
We can love people AND choose not to support their attitudes and behaviors. It happens in families all the time! Anyone ever heard of siblings fighting? or troubled marriages? or estranged children/parents? People are always going to disagree about one thing or another. It doesn't mean we don't love each other anymore. It doesn't mean that we are all intolerant narcissists. It does mean that we should work together for the COMMON good. We should support things/attitudes/behaviors/fads that will better our society, not make it worse.
There is a scriptural account of a group of people who were so peaceful and happy, that they had no warring for more than a century(!!). How did this happen? It's because of "the love of God" which was in their hearts. To love God is to love self and others. To love others is to serve them. To serve others is to learn to love them even more. And the cycle goes on and on, unless LOVE stops being the motivating factor for living.
Now, there are still many really good people. Many devote their lives to service and trying to better the lives of others. I know a lot of them, and I love and admire them. They are who try to make our world better for the next generation. This is what it is all about! True love, true service, true tolerance.
****Our society's lack of love is to blame for the wrongs therein. WE are our society!! I think most of realy do want the good, but we have been deceived by a very seductive message of selfishness and mediocrity. We need to start taking responsibility for our actions, and work to fix the wrongs we've allowed to happen. We need to start loving more and thinking about ourselves less. We need to set the example of a higher standard. We need to show that it is good for us to love ourselves and be proud of ourselves and our accomplishments. We need to make "good" popular again!! We need to learn that charity, which is the pure love of Christ, is what will fix all of the wrong and bad and ills of our society. We also need to learn that love is a verb, not just an emotion.
LOVE IN ACTION IS SERVICE, AND BOTH LEAD ALL TO TRUE HAPPINESS.
