Where Nothing is Sacred, There's Nothing to Lose

The lines start to blur, I get so confused

I get shiny new models mixed up with the blues

I get binary code mixed up with abuse

The facts are simply on option to choose

Where nothing is sacred there's nothing to lose

Where nothing is sacred all is consumed

We're still on the air it must be the truth

We're selling the news.

I want to believe you

I want to believe

But everything I see is greed

The fact is fiction

Suspicion is the new religion.

"Der verlorene Sohn" - Gerard van Honthorst

These are the last three lines of Switchfoot's telling song, "Selling the News," and some of the most powerful in the whole piece.

The first stanza describes the climax of the singer's confusion as he tries to make sense of the world, morally, based off of the social media's coverage of it.  All of the lies, half-truths, and fanciful claims to honesty are beginning to blur together, causing him to start to lose sense of what is true and what isn't.  He is so turned around that he is getting serious issues mixed up with objects and technology, because the media treats them all the same.  The newest Apple product gets the same amount of coverage as the most recent war-tragedy, and the latest environmental rally, which had about five attendants, gets more coverage than the March for Life in DC, which has millions of attendants (and is not even mentioned on regular television).  Which is why the facts are only an option, because one can watch mainstream TV or choose to research the truth, just like one can chose to believe the lies of Planned Parenthood, or choose to research the truth. 

The middle paragraph is incredible.  "Where nothing is sacred, there's nothing to lose,"  Think about that for a minute.  If we pretended that God did not exist, what reason would we have for avoiding sin?  If we decided that God and His morals just get in the way, and so decided to ignore, abuse, or curse them, what reason would we have for remaining pure, holy, and disciplined?  We would have no reason.  The more secular the world becomes, the more politically correct we become, the less respect we as nation have, and everything sacred is discarded, which is why living together before marriage and killing children for the sake of convinence is now considered okay by modern society.  And, as our culture becomes degraded all the good is consumed in the destructive fire of Satan as people begin to become comfortable with His tricks.  Yet, "we're still on the air, it must be the truth" is the way our nation thinks.  "Well, I heard it on the news!" is the common excuse to justify any claim that seems incorrect.  "Oh, well then you must be right" is inevitably the response.  When did opinions become facts?

And, as the song ends, the refrain changes a little to highlight one of the basic reasons our society has taken such a turn for the worst.  Because "everything is greed."  Why don't the news stations report the truth?  Because if they do their Muslim sponsors will not longer pay for their fancy clothes and shiny sets.  Why doesn't Planned Parenthood tell girls the harmful effects of abortions before doing them?  Because then they will lose money.  Why does Hollywood continue producing trash, and why do actors consent to play immoral characters?  Money, money, money.

And so ends Switchfoot's "Selling the News," one of the most eye-opening and honest analyzations of our country I have heard so far.  May we pray we will stop the decay and begin to rebuild a nation "under God" once again.

This is part 6 of 9 in the series We're Selling the News.  In the next three parts I will post things you can do to start healing this sick culture and review a book that fits perfectly with this theme.