New Christianity, Our Economy and Last Night's Episode of South Park

            There are acts which appear to be good, but the motive of the person who does them is not good; and there are other acts which appear to be bad, while the motive of the doer is good. The same is true of some statements. The discrepancy is due to inexperience or ignorance, sometimes to evil intention, and sometimes to good intention. St. Mark the Ascetic

I don’t watch much television, but it will intrigue some, and concern others, to know that my favorite television show is South Park. Yes, the same South Park with the vile, foul-mouthed children making all kinds of bodily function jokes where the same character used to be killed in every episode.

“How can this be?” you might ask. Because South Park is a show which exposes the truth-and this is in accordance with the goals of the New Christianity. Christ would approve of South Park, and all should learn its lessons-lessons which by and large are in accordance with Christianity’s teachings. Every episode of South Park ends with one of the characters stating, “I learned something today…” and expounding on it. What other television show can lay claim to teaching a valuable lesson in each and every episode?

On to last night's episode: South Park attacked what some people term as the Wal-Mart expansion plague. In typical satirical South Park fashion, the show accurately showed that the Wal-Mart plague’s source is none other than our very own individual rampant consumerism: that, as a culture, we are far too greedy and covetous, that we want more and more and more, and that, ironically, instead of becoming satisfied and content with our increasing material possessions, we actually become more enslaved, as Stan’s father, Mr. Marsh did in the episode.

How much more stuff can we possibly consume before we realize that all we are eating is empty calories? We must look within to find satisfaction.

This is how our culture works, economically:

Our economic system is rampant, unrestrained capitalism. That is not a judgment of the system, it is merely a statement of the reality. Capitalism is darwinistic evolution, pure and simple. To survive in business in this capitalistic society, one must sell, sell, sell, sell, sell, and one must continually adapt to changes in the business climate. But one thing ensures survival: a good advertising and marketing plan. The flip-side of sell, sell, is that you must have someone to buy, buy.

Superficially, advertising simply appears to be a matter of persuading us to select one producer’s product over another. However, it is far more insidious than that. Advertising, and the media, teaches-no, brainwashes us-into making us believe that we need to own or use products in order to be worthwhile human beings or obtain happiness.

I can think of nothing else so un-Christian in its very nature, nothing so opposed to the development and evolution of the human spirit. It is a modern-day plague on humanity.

Our children are taught to believe that if they don’t wear name-brand clothes, they are not “cool”. It is teaching them that their self-esteem and their ego should be based on what they own, and, by implication, that they can buy contentment and happiness. And it teaches them to buy more and more of it, under the greatest scam of all, “the latest fashion”, because the economy has to keep on selling.(By the way, this, in and of itself, is a good reason for our schools to have uniforms.) Why is it that the “latest fashion” always only lasts for one season???

And we as adults are poor examples. We need expensive cars, big impressive houses, exotic jewelry, all to inflate our egos. We keep wanting more and more, because each time we get something new, the period of satisfaction with our new toy gets shorter and shorter, like a heroin addict building up his tolerance.

Even worse, we are taught to abhor aging. We are taught that we must look a certain way, in order to be acceptable to society, and, if you don’t look a certain way, advertising and the media make you feel bad about yourself, but, coincidentally, you can get surgery to correct it. All in the name of making money!

They have created a problem on our inside, that they tell us can be corrected by doing surgery on the outside. Ah, the genius of advertising!

We are addicted, enslaved to consumerism, and advertising and the media are the demons chaining us up. When will we learn the folly of our ways?

It is so important that we learn this lesson for ourselves. Thanks, South Park, for a great season debut!

If you like what you've read here, please forward it to five friends. You have my undying thanks!

Comments

[noble]

If this interests you, check out this article from the Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A12175-2005Mar6.html/?nav=yahoolocal

[Ellis Maxx]

You sound more like a Marxist secularists than an American or Christian.

I am all for open-mindedness and gleening insight wherever it can be found;--something can be learned through all things, I think. But to pretend South Park is some kind of educational experience or a reliable source for spiritual growth is nonsense.

I do appreciate the fact that you are taking the time and expending the thought to do what you are doing here, however. Just disagree on some points.

[D. Maurer]

You are right! South Park is astoundingly within the realm of the new truth. I think this post is profound. Thank you.