Land of the Lost

"And the people bowed and prayed to the neon god they made"
---The Sound of Silence (Paul Simon)


Digital media is devouring Western Civilization and we need to ween ourselves from our devices. What started out as a fascination with technology has grown into an obsession. Video and sound pollute our thinking, and digital imagery has become what Karl Marx described as an opiate of the masses.

After the First World War, radio captured our imagination and motion pictures fascinated audiences. In 1939, color was introduced to motion pictures with the release of Gone With the Wind and our nation entered the lion's den much as Daniel had done in the Old Testament.

Television brought forth a Babylonian Tower when the device was introduced to the American public in 1948, and our fascination with media grew into a form of idolatry: Soap operas and sitcoms have sodomized our nation, reality TV has bred avarice, lust and envy, and celebrity talk shows have exposed false Christs.

Similarly, televised sporting events have enslaved audiences to Caesar's bread and circuses. In the fall and winter seasons for example: college football dominates God's day of rest and professional football dominates the first day of the work week.

In the 1980's, a new Gomorrah metastasized when movie theaters and television converged: Home video rental stores were sold to the public and pornography was infused into our suburban communities. Cable television preceded this and popularized bundled entertainment services with explicit content.

Premium television altered the landscape for broadcast news altogether. CNN ushered in 24/7 news coverage and cut into the ratings of the established news networks.

Rather than stick to their principles, the networks hyped up their news coverage as well. They canned news on local affiliate networks and sensationalized headlines. This hyperbolized news coverage.

In radio markets, stations struggled to retain advertisers during the during the cable boon. Station managers hired shock jocks to create controversy and stir up ratings.

In competing markets, competing shot jocks coveted the the title of King of the Airwaves: ensnaring themselves in the process with their hedonistic acts.

The hyperbole in both radio and television continued well into the 1990s and fed the internet revolution. Much like the Sodomites, internet pioneers built an illusory Hanging Garden: a labyrinth of decadence masking the Whore of Babylon. Graphic images and video reels lured an adoring public ever deeper into the flytrap of Venus.

Pornographers led the way and search engine pioneers followed their lead. Both designed their trawlers to appeal to pleasures of the flesh: luring consumers with tempting snippets below voyeuristic headlines. The advent of smart phones and tablets extrapolated the temptations.

Nearing the quantum era, we are inundated with music and video all throughout the cities and suburbs. Noise pollution and electromagnetic vibrations are so pervasive that we barely notice the introduction of new invasive devices.

The Hanging Garden of Babylon has taken root on American soil and it has despoiled the land of milk and honey.  A dystopian future awaits all of Western Civilization if a revival does not begin soon.

Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither --
whatever they do prospers.

Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in
judgement,
nor the sinners in assembly of the righteous.
For the Lord watches  over the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to destruction.


Author: Erik Gagnon - Managing Partner, Chi Rho Consulting