My girlfriend, Carole, and I were talking tonight about what I should write a new post on, and we eventually meandered into this topic. It ended up being a fruitful and thought-provoking discussion, so we present a brief summary for you here.
10. Amusement Parks
The problem with amusement parks is not so much their existence as their quantity. Every major state has dozens of massive plots of land covered in asphalt, steel structures, and booths where you can buy lunch for about ten bucks (or get a refillable souvenir cup for only 15 more!). Disneyworld/land are of course the most egregious offenders, but they are only the figureheads of a much more widespread structure. I’m not an environmentalist by a longshot, but seriously, I can think of much better uses of thousands of acres of land than “amusement”.
9. Collectibles
Longaberger baskets. Snowbabies. Precious Moments. Beanie Babies (this was my family’s vice). Lighthouse figurines. Plates. Rare coins. Rare anything. Anything that comes in a series, that causes people to think it’s a good idea to purchase for NO OTHER REASON than simply to own them, or even worse, display them so that anyone who sets foot in their house can observe their monetary selfishness.
8. Lottery/Gambling
The lottery is the polar opposite concept of redistribution of wealth…take a little bit of money from everyone, and give it all to one person! Brilliant! Seriously, could we have this idea any more messed up?
7. Cosmetics/Jewelry
Self-beautification. Makeup, eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, earrings, decorative rings, necklaces, bracelets, anklets, toe rings, expensive stones that are indistinguishable from less expensive stones. How many of us can honestly tell a cubic zirconia from a diamond? How is it we have been forced to care? Why does the rarity of a gem drastically increase its value? Why do women, and sometimes men, feel the need to weigh themselves down in coverups and shiny distractions that obscure their natural, God-given beauty?
6. Pharmaceuticals
This goes all the way from prescription drugs right down to Tylenol and Ibuprofen. Americans are deluged in pills that encapsulate wonders such as pain relief, physical healing, sleep aid, hair growth, erections, hormonal shifts, pregnancy prevention, “happiness”, weight loss, anxiety and numerous other things. Then each of these pills comes with throngs of “side effects”. There is little healing to be had when the medicine is produced by a corporation. They don’t want to fix your problems…if they did, you’d no longer need to buy their product. It’s bad business! On top of that, medicine has shifted Christians’ focus from God squarely back on humanity when a physical problem arises. We trust God with our spiritual crises, but not our physical ones. When our head aches, we wrap our hands around the aspirin bottle before we ever think to fold them in prayer. When we can’t sleep, we medicate ourselves into oblivion instead of meditating on the inner cause of our restlessness. When the world gets us down, we take an upper rather than taking heart in He who has overcome the world. Lastly, the Greek word pharmake from which the English word pharmacy comes is translated as “sorcery”. When you hear about magic or sorcery in the ancient world, the effects were often accomplished with physical concoction, not mystic conjurations. Think about it.
5. Oil
ExxonMobil made almost $40 billion profit in 2006. Yes, we need gasoline in this country, but we don’t need people getting rich from exploiting that need.
4. Religion
This covers a few things, starting with televangelists who are constantly offering you their book, program, or anointed product for a sizable donation…and who are often false prophets cashing in on poor weak-spirited wayward sheep. There’s Benny Hinn and his private jet, which was surely the best use of a couple million dollars for the spreading of the gospel. There are also the myriads of Religious trinkets (this overlaps a bit with the point on collectibles) offered for sale, produced in unimaginable conditions in sweatshops by barely-compensated Asian slave laborers. There are churches building new million-dollar sanctuaries and fellowship halls, choosing to invest that money in a building they call “church” instead of the people Christ calls His bride. Churches don’t even need buildings! Where two or more gather in His name, He is there. Do we not have houses? Do we not have yards? How can we enter such garish structures and hear the message of Christ, who had no engraved crystal pulpit, no air-conditioned sanctuary with upholstered pews, no wireless microphone being tweaked by a disciple in the elevated sound booth, no overhead projector, and no place to rest His head, when He reached thousands of Jewish peasants tirelessly traversing Israel’s countryside?
3. Military
For one, the military clearly does not exist for our defense, but to allow us to bully and police the rest of the world. For two, less than one percent of the annual U.S. military budget would not only end poverty in this country, but also provide sufficient healthcare for all.
2. Pornography
All the lustful wickedness in man’s heart, fueling a multi-billion dollar industry that degrades and dehumanizes women, destroys families, and desenstizes and desexualizes men young and old. It’s one thing to think of a person struggling with pornography. Heck, I struggle greatly with it. But I’d never pay for the stuff. Unfortunately, most men don’t struggle with porn…because they embrace it with arms open, and throw open their wallets to feed the fire and their glorified addiction. Internet pay-for sites, films, strip clubs and topless bars…not only is it (nearly) the greatest waste of money in civilized history, it is a well-nourished cancer that is eating our culture alive.
1. Entertainment
This category is undeniably number one on the list, as I originally intended it to be four categories, but ended up lumping them together because we came up with so many other ideas. So here we are: athletes, actors, and popular music stars are, by and large, the highest-paid and wealthiest citizens in our country. The problem is, they actually earn all the money they make. Athletes make millions, because we pay to watch them play…and we regard them as heroes for being so strong and agile, though they contribute nothing of value to society. Actors are the same, except they aren’t usually even athletic…just attractive (maybe) and captivating, so we pay to watch them on films and in our televisions. Musicians are lumped in as well, because of comments I made in Raleigh’s recent post on piracy. Music is a hobby; no one should seek to make their living by making melody for others’ listening pleasure. Game shows are here for a similar reason as the lottery. Think about how many billions of dollars in cash and prizes have been given out over the last few decades on game shows. Heck, think about even the last decade. Game shows, and their rewards, are getting larger and larger. It’s absolutely absurd. Even one-tenth of a percent of the American money thrown headlong into entertainment could be used to end hunger, poverty, and health crises in the nation. If the NFL, MLB, NBA, and Nascar for one season expended all of their financial gain, it could probably wipe out hunger and poverty in the entire world.
God bless America? Shut up. If I were God, I’d be hard pressed not to rethink that whole “never flooding the world and wiping out humanity” thing.
