“Where men are forbidden to honour a king, they honor millionaires, athletes, or film stars instead; even famous prostitutes or gangsters. For spiritual nature, like bodily nature, will be served; deny it food and it will gobble poison.”
C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis understood human nature perhaps as well as any mortal man ever has as the above quote demonstrates. Who do we honor? I ask this of both those of us who aspire to higher standards as well as to what now passes for popular culture. I ask this of those who vote for the leadership of our nation. Most of all, I ask this of myself.
The reasons behind the election of the man who currently resides in the White House can be found in this same question. Was he elected because he clearly articulated a vision of a morally upright, honorable America where all men would have the opportunity to excel and then reap the rewards of their success? or was he elected because he seemed “cool” and “hip” and represented “the latest ‘in’ thing”? To paraphrase someone he is fond of quoting, was he elected based on the content of his character – or on the color of his skin? I have no doubt that it was for the latter.
I have made no secret of my admiration for constitutional monarchy as a form of government, and Mr. Lewis has presented the chief argument in favor of that – the moral and spiritual reason. Many people will, of course, feed their “spiritual nature” with poison rather than food simply because the nature of man tends toward the wicked rather than the good. Those type of people will always be with us. The benefits of having a leader who represents honor and righteousness and justice and freedom go not to what I refer to as “Walmart people,” but to those who yearn for a leader who brings out the best in men rather than pandering to our baser instincts.
One doesn’t need a king to find worthy people to admire. Certainly in this country, men like Washington, Jefferson and, yes, unfortunately, Lincoln have been honored at least in the past. The revival of Lincoln WORSHIP – a far cry from honour – is more to do with his use (at least the use of his LEGEND) in the present agenda than in any true historical understanding of the man and his deeds. Parenthetically, such an understanding might, or at least SHOULD, result in exactly the opposite reaction by any true American.
No, what we have today has little to do with the desires of the public. Rather it has to do with those whom the establishment through its media arm bring to the public as individuals worthy of honor and admiration. In the past, statesmen, explorers, warriors and even men (and women) of science were exposed to the public through the organs of communication whether it be newspapers, books, journals or even such lighter means as the motion picture. I remember a time in my youth when great men of the past were routinely depicted in motion pictures and when the wicked were portrayed, they were not permitted – according to Hollywood’s own code of conduct – to prevail in their wickedness. True, a “bad guy” was permitted a “good death” but only after he had repented of his wickedness and spent his life to achieve a good result. Even “heroic” rogues like Sinbad and Robin Hood were not rogues at all, but good men forced by wicked circumstances to engage in what would ordinarily have been seen as “crime.” And in the end, their sortie on the dark side would end with the powers of good embracing their deeds because they were not, after all, wicked.
All of this is now long gone and more likely than not in today’s movies, the bad guy not only wins, but the audience is expected to WANT him to do so or at least to accept his triumph and ultimate return as something desirable. Hence we have numerous sequels to slasher films such as Nightmare on Elm Street and Halloween. In both of these series, the only character of importance is the villain, a supernatural (and super human) creature whose entire existence is predicated on killing the innocent – and the more innocent, the better! At least in the old days, movie criminals represented by actors like James Cagney and Edward G. Robinson usually killed other criminals (and, of course, their enemy the police) rather than the innocent. Indeed, the entire thrust of the book and movie “The Godfather” had to do with a change from the oddly “moral” nature of the mob prior to the influx of drugs to a completely amoral and violent society lacking any moral restraints.
People will, of course, honour SOMEONE; we are hard-wired to do so. But our superficial culture results in many mindlessly embracing “celebrities” (for instance, the Kardashians), or, in the alternative, those who DO have values embrace the very worst of humanity because they represent those values (for instance, Che Guevera).
No, you don’t need a “king” to give homage to the worthy. But today not only are the worthy removed from those whom we are permitted to honour, but it has come to the point at which we are not permitted to WORSHIP the only true King. And this clearly proves that our culture is not just shallow, trivial or even corrupt, but it has become truly wicked.
For those who wonder just what I mean by “Walmart people,” we need look no further than this morning’s news. When word got out that Walmart was accepting EBT cards (i.e., taxpayer-funded welfare) even though the system was not showing the card limits, the store was jammed with “Walmart people” filling their carts and “paying” for it with cards they knew were worthless. When the system came back up, they simply abandoned their filled carts and left the store. Such is the nature of those who voted for Obama.
http://www.ksla.com/story/23679489/walmart-shelves-in-springhill-mansfield-cleared-in-ebt-glitch
I am not one to boast of my relationship with God, but I am a very religious man. Just yesterday, I was so grateful to be at Church. There was not anything different going on at Church, it was a regular Sunday Mass. I was just so happy to be there, and I had a hard time trying to keep myself from smiling while I was singing. I had never been that happy just singing at Church on a regular Sunday evening. It got me to thinking just what I may do with my life in the future. I have thought about becoming a Christian country singer, and it is starting to seem like the Lord is pushing me in that direction. I find so much joy in praising and worshiping Him through music. There is no question to whom my honor goes to.
As far as worldly idols go, you mentioned athletes, and there is an athlete that I look up to. That man is Jeff Gordon. However, I do not idolize him, I simply look up to him. He is my inspiration to become a NASCAR driver. However, it is not just what he does on the track or even in the sport that makes me look up to him. For a person of his stature who has had so much success, he remains such a humble man and finds great joy in helping other people. Besides racing, he has dedicated his life to helping people both here and outside of the country. He does not do it for fame or popularity as his charitable work is hardly ever publicized. He does it because he knows he can make much more of a difference in the world than just by racing. That is why I look up to him. Whatever I am successful in, whether it would be Christian country music or NASCAR, I want to live my life to do the Lord’s will. I want to recognize that everything I can do is because He allows me to, and I want to do what He allows me to in order to praise Him.