The Grammys, Sex, and Satan – For God\’s Sake, Just Buy a CD!

Birgit Jones - Grammys

Watching an Amish documentary last Sunday, I heard the following exchange:

Among a busload of visitors to Amish Country, someone asked an Amish gentleman, \”What\’s the difference between you Amish and us \’English\’?\”

The Amish gentleman replied, \”How many of you own televisions?\” The hands of all tourists went up.

\”How many of you are distressed with what is often seen on television?\” Again all hands up.

\”How many of you will go home and get rid of your televisions?\” No hands went up.

\”That\’s the difference between the Amish and the English!\”

This simple, painful observation was made even more relevant when reports of the 2014 Grammys surfaced. Apparently this year\’s Grammys featured: 1) a mass wedding ceremony performed, including both homosexual and heterosexual couples, by Queen Latifah, a performer;  2) a risque duet by Beyoncé and Jay-Z; and 3) a satanic performance by Katy Perry. Remind me again why anyone watches an orgy of perversion such as this? An answer might be revealed in Matthew Kelly\’s, Rediscover Catholicism, “Our culture places a very high premium on self-expression, but is relatively disinterested in producing \’selves\’ that are worth expressing.”

So, many do watch, repeatedly, even as the performances sink to ever lower levels, and the members of these faithful audiences are the enablers. Because these train wrecks, disguised as entertainment, continue to be watched, they will persist in their downward spiral. For God\’s sake, buy a CD or something! Why continue to expose ourselves to filth, in an effort to see a small bit of entertainment?

My late mother used to tell a story about a mom, worried about her older children\’s movie-viewing habits. Each time she voiced her objections to some of the vile content in their movie selections, the kids would say, \”There\’s only a little bit of [language, sex, or gratuitous violence] in them. The rest of the movie is really good.\” Undaunted, she made brownies for the next movie night. After everyone had heartily eaten the delicious confection, the mother announced that one of the ingredients was dog poo. Outraged, the children exclaimed, \”How could you feed us such a thing?\” To which she replied, \”But there was only a little bit of dog poo in them, the rest of the ingredients were top quality and delicious.\”  Point made! No?

In a recent tweet, Pope Francis shared some thoughts as well, \”Young people, let us not be satisfied w/mediocre life. Be amazed by what is true, beautiful, what is of God\”.

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A part of the problem seems to lie with each individual\’s mistaken impression that personal actions have no impact on the larger picture. There is a deficit of those willing to hold out for the exceptional, of not settling for the mediocre or worse. In truth, each of us makes a huge difference—one person at a time. And what we do has a ripple effect, for good or for evil. There are consequences in either case. Support these intrinsic evil acts by visual support and others follow. The titillation of shock and outraged discussions will fuel the curious and innocent alike, resulting in patronage of these lowest of entertaining elements.

On the other hand, those who resist the temptation will have a positive impact. One of my friends had set her DVR for later viewing of the Grammys, planning to fast-forward to only those artists of whom she was a fan. After some discussion, she honored her husband\’s request, erasing the entire recording. As a couple, they came to the realization that most of the content was an open attack on conservative and Christian values. Allowing even a portion of The Grammys was not a compromise they were willing to make on their deeply held beliefs. Here was an example of one couple, sharing their discernment on Facebook and having a positive impact.

Realizations such as this may be coming to more and more people (we pray). In reference to the Grammys, former Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron tweeted to his followers, “Is it just me or are some of the Grammy performances so far…really demonic?? Looks like there is a lot of evil in the world…” Yes, indeed, and it’s time we all took notice!

© Birgit Jones. All rights reserved.

 

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12 thoughts on “The Grammys, Sex, and Satan – For God\’s Sake, Just Buy a CD!”

  1. I love your story Birgit!!! I so agree with the idea of ridding yourself of the television set. We have one, but only use it to watch movies, or good things. I did not watch the Grammy Awards because I have no interest in that, and it sounds like whatever I did instead must have been better. Television, for the most part is just horrible in my opinion. “Train wrecks disguised as entertainment” is such a great way to say it! Bravo!!

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  3. “Fifty years after the Second Vatican Council, we are distressed by the troubles of our age and far from naive optimism; yet the fact that we are more realistic must not mean that we are any less trusting in the Spirit or less generous. In this sense, we can once again listen to the words of Blessed John XXIII on the memorable day of 11 October 1962: “At times we have to listen, much to our regret, to the voices of people who, though burning with zeal, lack a sense of discretion and measure. In this modern age they can see nothing but prevarication and ruin … We feel that we must disagree with those prophets of doom who are always forecasting disaster, as though the end of the world were at hand. In our times, divine Providence is leading us to a new order of human relations which, by human effort and even beyond all expectations, are directed to the fulfilment of God’s superior and inscrutable designs, in which everything, even human setbacks, leads to the greater good of the Church” Francis

  4. Birgit, I love the honesty expressed here. Thank you for sharing this perspective, and especially the cartoon. That’s going on the refrig in our home. 😉 Last night while shopping with my daughter, this song came on the radio. The lyrics were horrible. No room for speculation. The words were vulgar, raw and offensive. I changed the channel. My daughter asked why I changed it. “Inappropriate!” The only explanation I could give….without going into a rant! At least in the 60s lyrics were concealed in metaphors.Not anymore! You get to hear every disgusting vulgar reference like you are listening to porn! Keep up the good work! May the Holy Spirit continue to inspire you. Peace be with you.

    1. Birgit Atherton Jones

      Thank you for the kind words and for being a true worker in the Lord’s vineyard. The lives children raised by discerning parents may be the only evangelization received by some.

  5. Kimberly Beeson Pillatzke

    This is why I have given up cable Tv and even regular Tv shows. I now watch things online using Hulu, redbox, and other online services this way I can pick and choose what I watch and don’t watch.I also buy a lot of Christian movies or family friendly movies from some great sites I found. I don’t watch Tv everyday, or all day long any more and find I do not miss watching all day TV. When it is something I want to watch by myself or with my family we watch it, otherwise we read books, play games, go outdoors and spend family time more often now..

    1. This change is not nearly so hard to make as it seems it should. We gave up the t.v. and cable package in July of last year. If its on you-tube and we can watch it for free, and we don’t object to the content, we’ll watch it. there are a few shows we can tolerate from the networks because we like the shows, but not much. We also have found much more Christian entertainment. And yes, its amazing how much time it frees up to play games and spend quality
      time as a family.

    2. Birgit Atherton Jones

      I’ considering doing away with television altogether, but haven’t done so at this point. We do rely on Netflix and Hulu for most of our family entertainment. God bless!

    3. Birgit Atherton Jones

      Good move! We’ve done similar things to protect our children (and ourselves) from the corruption so apparent these days. God bless!

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  7. And I have no regrets about deleting it.
    I am so sick of all the disgusting morals shoved in our faces.
    Great article.

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