Thursday, January 24, 2008

The Real Opiates

Marx lied and said that religion was the opiate of the masses, meaning of course that religion induces a stupor whereby we become distracted and unconcerned with the harsh and unfair reality. Second Terrace puts this notion to rest and introduces his list of opiates for the masses today. Please note: Second Terrace is not the easiest blog to read and uses a peculiar vocabulary...but one worth learning.

His list:

Sports. Not backyard sports but professional sports and parent-organized youth teams.

Professional Politics. Not local politics, but the glossy package of national politics

Wealth Management. The "human sacrifice" we give for more money.

Orthodox Church Structure (the author is Orthodox). You may substitute your own denomination's turmoil or political problems and "If only's..." here. Optional: if church politics don't distract you, then substitute company politics, city politics, or whatever else you obsess about.

Entertainment. Fun. Not Christian joy, but entertainment. Continually. Fun as the measure of good things. Was it fun? No? Then it must be bad.

Professional Sex. Or sex-obsessed society.

And his list of mantras that can induce stupor simply be repeating them.

2 comments :

  1. Doorman-Priest said...

    Well, the entertainment category certainly struck a chord. Reality T.V. Now that is stupor inducing and it certainly appeals to the masses.

  2. Rev. Eric J Brown said...

    Well - think of the reasons people give for not being able to make it to church or church events. How many of them run along these lines? Quite a few.