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Well, it is two in the morning right now, and that means that another one of Dr. Jax's great epiphanies are about to come out into the open to rear it's incredibly ugly head. This isn't so much an epiphany as a rant over the state of society (as per usual), but about something that I'm well known for screaming about-- the idiotic machine that is called the media.

Do not write this off as a joke when I say the media is a brainwashing tool, because I'm being completely and utterly serious. In fact, I've become so completely and utterly serious about it that I have all but cut myself off from it, hardly watching movies or TV or listening to music that doesn't happen to be a soundtrack or something that was prescribed from a friend and that I know is (for the most part, hopefully) clean. Unfortunately, it seems that the media seeps into everything that ever enters or leaves our foul-minded little brains, and I can't get away from it.

No one seems to understand the psychological influence the media or the things we perceive actually hold. I was watching a documentary over rock music from a Christian perspective, and there was a shocking amount of hypocrisy and horridness in it that I hadn't realized (or didn't even want to think about until it was shoved in my face, and for good measure too). Most of it happened to be over some of the idols my father probably listened to and loved during his age-- after all, it was the 70's. As he walked to his room, and he said to us: "It's just music."

I honestly cannot believe that. There is no way as a performer that I can believe that music 'is just music.' It has a deep, incredibly impressive effect on people-- and that includes what is in it. Music about sex, drugs, money, profanity, all of that; do people really, really, really believe that they aren't influenced in their thinking? Are we really that blind and idiotic as to believe that we are so above this influence that we aren't affected at all?! The mind is a concrete slab that isn't dry yet. Anything that walks in happens to leave a mark. Would you rather have a child's little handprint or an idiot's massive backside in your mind? When you listen to all that music, you advocate it. You are relishing in it, and we are all guilty in one way or another. Pop artists, rock stars, country music-- every genre is guilty of portraying rotten fruit from a sickened tree.

Paul says, in Philippians 4: 8, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is admirable-- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-- think about such things." This is a particularly wide genre right there, because it depends on our perception of what is good, righteous, holy-- oh, wait, NO IT DOESN'T. I'm about to get religious here, so if you don't like it you may wish to look away and skip this sentence. The Bible defines what is morally right and just through the Ten Commandments and several other things that Jesus says himself. I'm not afraid to say it. It's a moral code right in front of us. Many other religions follow most of the basic guidelines the Bible follows as well, such as honor your parents, don't steal or lie or murder, don't commit adultery.

So why is it we hear so much about screwing over authority, wanting to kill people, or going and sleeping around like it's the hottest thing since a heating element? Do we ever hear anything about 'respecting our parents', or 'loving in the best way (which means, no, not physically).' Our society just seems to want to keep on drifting down and down and down, and it's bugging me because I can't watch, listen, or read about anything any more. I can't just look past it and say 'oh, it's just that one part' any more.

An analogy in the video that I watched state this. If you put a bowl of rat poison in a room of small children, they will not even look at it. It's bitter to the taste, it looks unappetizing, and it's nasty. However, put it in a bowl full of M&M's and they're all over it. We want to trick ourselves into thinking 'we can stop any time we want' but that's not true. Not in the least way, shape, or form are we able to drag ourselves out of our own pit alone. We may get lucky and find someone to help us, but in the end we are our own executioners. We will take our poison in small doses and never notice it. We will blind ourselves to it, saying 'it's just that one part.' We don't believe there are consequences for small matters such as this. It doesn't seem to pertain to ourselves immediately.

But eventually, it catches up to us. The little things will build up and build up until we can't ignore it any more. We'll bury ourselves in our own rotten FILTH before we ever admit that we're doing something wrong and we need to stop. Self-control is a lost art to the world, and it's slow going to get it back. We're so fixated on ourselves that we forget that there's somebody else out there that probably needs us to hurry up and get to them because we're essential to some sort of ineffable plan we can't even begin to comprehend that means to deal with them. We serve ourselves, and in this way destroy what is good because to serve ourselves is all we want. We are slaves to ourselves in the worst way imaginable, and we actually advocate it through the media by brainwashing ourselves into thinking that going around topless is normal, teenage sex is part of teen life, and that as long as it feels right, we can do it.

It's sickening to watch. Mainly becuase I advocated it and I endorsed it and I felt sick to my stomach afterwards knowing that I gave a proverbial thumbs up by saying NOTHING ABOUT IT. I didn't protest. I didn't say 'well, that looks awfully weird'. I shook my head sadly, and I didn't give a word because it didn't really pertain to me. However, this is untrue because it was the things that I would come in contact with one way or another through music, television, movies, and the like. This world holds no heroes, and man makes no saviors. And it's always the quiet ones who will snap and kill you first. The safest route hides daggers, and the snake is always hiding somewhere, if you look hard enough.

We have gotten so used to serving ourselves that we've become senseless. Those of us who are Christians should be loathe to even think to call ourselves such because we advocate when we say zip. Our parents are guilty as well, as that was their generation-- and they probably could've stopped it if they really thought it was wrong. We're all held to blame for how far we've fallen down. Even those who are not of my faith can probably say that this is true, and that the media has slowly induced us into a senseless vision of ourselves as First and everyone else as taking a backseat.

After all, isn't it supposed to be our life? Shouldn't we live it as we see fit? Isn't that what rebellion is? Going after what we want, after freedom?

If you want true rebellion, rebel against yourself. It's the hardest thing you will ever do, and it is the only true rebellion that exists that brings order instead of chaos.