My wife and I watched Taylor Swift’s music video “22” the other night. We met when we were 22. As I listened I became terribly disturbed, perhaps indignant is a better term, by the lyrics.
“We’re happy free confused and lonely at the same time, It’s miserable and magical oh yeah.”
Well Ms. Swift, you are far from happy let alone free if you are confused, lonely and miserable.
Civilization itself grew from addressing this very contradiction in man. The realization that a true happiness based on the spirit, beyond the temporary thrill one experiences from physical stimulation, could not be found in man’s fallen state turned man’s hearts toward a higher being and purpose codified in religion in the pursuit of an eternal lasting happiness. From religion arose morals and values through which man could create a more harmonious society capable of striving for greater and greater prosperity, happiness and upon that freedom to pursue one’s dreams.
Being a slave to sin, the pleasures of the flesh, has doomed man to a menial existence where one is always chained to seeking that next thrill to cover the emptiness in one’s heart. It is the same as a drug addict who lives from one fix to the next. Or as Taylor Swift would put it:
“Everything will be alright if you keep me next to you, You don’t know me, but I bet you want to, Everything will be alright, if we just keep dancing like we are 22…”
I have suffered my own tragedies and short comings in my life; some call it High School. Stress and confusion were, are commonplace for many in their youth. So I, like you my reader understand the relief and joy one can experience in a highly stimulative interaction with friends or family, how the strenuous physical exertion in sports can free one from all worries or how any other physical gratification can temporarily make one experience a certain level of temporary joy or happiness. Especially in one’s youth ones body is highly tuned to the wonders of this physical world and driven to interact. It is natural. It is how God created us to be, but it does not equate in whole to the happiness that mankind throughout history has determined we were created to experience. It does not free us from crime and sin, whether one is the victim or perpetrator.
The freedom mankind has sought throughout the ages is integral with responsibility. The enlightened founders of this nation recognized the laws of God and nature (or God’s design) and understood that they embody certain perimeters man must conform to. In this God’s blessings flow and mankind is prosperous and free; man attains dominion. Without dominion over the world around us we become reactive beings rather than the subjective beings “GOD” created us to be, capable of free thought and action to comprehend and dominate all of creation.
When we talk about civilization rising out ever increasing morals and values we can look to the most basic framework of societal foundations; the Ten Commandments. Depictions of the Ten Commandments are commonplace on most court houses, at least the older ones.
In the Ten Commandments we have respect for God and His ways, respect for ones parents and the institution of husband and wife, and general directions to do no harm to others. It implies that we are part of something greater and that the unseen is more important than what is seen.
Taylor Swift is an amazing individual who has accomplished incredible things from a very young age. The vapid nature of the song “22'” is a disappointment. Perhaps her parents are wiser and have a greater level of understanding in their later years than their daughter. Unfortunately we live in an era where God has been replaced by a supposed incorruptible virtue of children. And when you have a child of such caliber how could one say anything in opposition? But sometimes that is the role of the parent; grasping a teachable moment.
The United States however has become a society where there is no compulsion or sense of commitment to recognize any responsibility to honored age old institutions or the concept of a greater good. Our society has become all about the self.
“Everything will be alright, if we just keep dancing like we are 22…”
