I was listening to a radio show. The speakers were discussing the decriminalization of street drugs. Towards the end of the show, a speaker expressed her anthropological and philosophical view concerning drugs. She considers that one purpose of life is to enjoy pleasure. Therefore, in essence, using street drugs is natural and morally good or at least neutral.
I do not think that this speaker’s view is unique in our age. Subjective pleasure or displeasure stands as the sole standard for many. What seems particular to our age is the efforts to decriminalize, legalize and provide public support for formerly considered sinful pleasures, such as homosexual union and narcotic abuse. At the same time, society attempts to decriminalize, legalize, or provide public support to formerly prohibited acts of irresponsibility and negligence such as suicide, euthanasia and abortion.
And all those attempts adopt mass media and academia as propaganda machinery. TV shows, movies and pop music are in the frontline of these campaigns. Colleges and universities become the breeding ground of these revolutionary ideas. Their method is simple: to euphemize and glorify sinful pleasures and irresponsible choices while covering their realities. And this method has been proven effective. The entire generation of people believes in the sanitized and abstract pleasure-seeking. These campaigns have successfully blinded so many that they cannot see the ugly realities of sinful pleasures and irresponsible choices. Have you seen a promotional video of abortion for children? The presenter teaches two children that abortion is very simple and clean as going to a dentist. No one in the media reveals the prevalent promiscuity among homosexuals and what homosexuals do in the darkness. Homosexuality is abstracted and idealized as love and a human right. As euthanasia becomes more and more accessible, sooner or later, euthanasia is likely to be promoted as a responsible and reasonable choice for the sake of the rest of the society to reduce unnecessary waste of resources while minimizing one’s discomfort.
When we let pleasure determine the meaning of life, it becomes incomprehensible to have a saviour who suffers for us. Instead, people completely forget about salvation. For them, God’s mercy is expired currency. Christ Jesus, the Son of God, becomes a total stranger.
