Culture

After several cloudy, rainy mornings, there was a beautiful sunrise today.

As a Catholic, I no longer have any desire to be sophisticated in the manners and sentiments of the moment. I no longer have any desire to accept the malnourishing sophistry that is so widely promoted and accepted by our society. I no longer have any desire to be perpetually distrusting of my neighbors, perpetually ready for battle against loved ones, perpetually scabrous because of fear, jealousy, or lust.

As a Catholic, I must navigate this imperfect culture, learning and retaining only that which encourages a relationship with God. I must remember the commandments.

At the core of our culture is leisure. We must rest, relax. To feel good about ourselves as individuals we must purchase new assorted accessories, drink and eat all types of things, both healthy and unhealthy, accept the rules of consumerism in thought and action. And this is just the tip of the hype. Our culture encourages us to be passive, not to think, not to challenge ideas. Our culture isolates us from the people around us, each other, and our loved ones.

As much as we cling to technology, there is something bizarre about all the benefits of technology contain latent dangers. I have various pieces of technology which I try to use appropriately. I understand the purposes of my computer and I use it for those reasons. My computer is primarily a writing and visual media assembling tool. But, there are moments when I am tempted to stray from my formula.

Our society wants us to stray, encourages us to stray, empowers us to stray. Our society is an enabler.

Depending on who you read, what philosophy that you accept, which psychological argument you accept everything in our society is simultaneously abstract, concrete, obscure, exaggerated, and unconscious. Great meaning can be attached to eating, walking, sleeping, rolling our eyes. Our lives can be reduced to conflicting truths, impulses, and learned thoughts from philosophy or psychiatry or sociology.

Modern American life is often viewed as one never-ending commercial break, filled with a multitude of ideas and images. Our culture is the condensation and corruption of love, mercy, hope, and compassion. Our society wants us to be on the curb or the sofa watching the parade, not marching in it.

Christianity asks us to join the parade, to trust God, to remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, to follow in his footsteps in both thought and action. Christianity asks us to accept the mysteries of creation and faith in our daily lives. Christianity asks us to allow spontaneity into our hearts and minds as we go about our lives and encounter those who are needy, homeless.

Being Catholic means keeping life simple, respecting the environment, loving my neighbors and myself. It means working to be spiritual, to have humility, charity, mercy, patience, compassion guide our lives.