Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Our society is going to Hell in a Handbasket

Hey guys,

Before I get into how our society is going to Hell in a Handbasket...a quick story.

Have I told you I have been having all sorts of foot issues?
My heel on the left foot has been really killing me. When I say killing me, I mean like I can't walk on my left heel.
I have been running A LOT and it has been uncomfortable but it really hurts after I play basketball.
Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, I have started to play hoops again on Sunday nights.
It hurts while I play and it really hurts the next day.
This past Sunday I had to stop playing in the middle of a game. This is a big deal.
This is only the second time in my life I came out of a game. The first time was when I broke my wrist.
So on Monday morning it was killing me. I could not put any pressure on my heel.
I needed to get help.
I called my assistant who a year earlier was having the same issues. She went to this podiatrist and since then has not had any issues.
I got the referral and called.
I made an appointment for the following week but I was being very nice to her on the phone and told her I had the day off and if they got a cancellation I could be there in about 10 minutes.
She called me back in about 5 minutes and said they had an opening that day.
I went in and the assistant talked to me about Plantar Fasciitis (I suspected that is what I had). The doctor came in and talked to me about 2 minutes before she said lets just do the shot today and go from there. I was all prepared mentally for this because this is what my assistant got (and I wanted relief, NOW).
Don't forget my marathon is in 7 weeks and I need to continue running.
But the next thing I knew, YYYOOOOWWWW, I was getting stuck in my foot with a needle about 3 inches long. It was over before I could get my girl scream out.

But I was happy to get it. I am just hoping it works. It is better but still very tender.
Now lets critique their office.
I don't think they were very thorough. I don't think they were very helpful. For example, they wanted me to do some exercises and they handed me a piece of paper with the exercises illustrated on it.
Do you think they could of taken one minute to show me how to do the exercises properly? Not just,"Do these, it will be helpful"
One last thing. The assistant at the beginning of the appointment suggested inserts. She said there is a $150 options and there is a "take an impression of your foot" $450 option. She didn't push it on me and in fact never closed the deal.
Now after all the talk with the doctor no one ever asked if I was interested in getting the inserts. She never said, "Can I set up an appointment to fit you for the inserts?"
So are they important or not?

But I think it would be good to get some.
Any suggestions? So far I have talked to 3 people that have had the shot and only one of them got the inserts (but he swears by them).

I have not watch anything on TV since I talked to you last.
At the present time I am not reading.

So lets get right to the Hell in a Handbasket thing.

One time I bought some deodorant and it came with some body wash.
My son, who is 9, loved it. So when he went through the whole jug he asked for some more.
Now I am pretty sure he is not trying to impress any girls but he just likes it so I told my wife to surprise him.

So my wife bought some AXE. You know she has seen the commercials. It was on sale so she bought some.
Problem was she didn't know that AXE is a company that uses sex to sell there product.
So we bust open the container and there is an insert to tell you how to use the product.
In the package there is a soap brush that comes with it. It is a two sided brush, one side is a rough and the other is soft.
But on the packaging it has a diagram of the brush and they label them with descriptions on why you should use it.
So the description says, and I quote, "Use this side to wash away a night with your ex-girlfriend" And the other side should be used, and I quote, "To wash away the night with your babysitter, from between your toes."
WHAT?!!
Are you kidding me?

I just went to their website and here are some more quotes...."Tsunami (one of their deodorant sprays), put it on your body and get ready to explore the deep."

How about this one...
"Phoenix, spread your wings and put on this deodorant, and all that is left to do it rise to the occasion."

One more,
"Wear this on your body and teach her how to rub things together to start a fire."

I am not kidding.
This is over the top.
To me this is wrong. This is irresponsible. I am always the one saying, "Well don't let your kids buy the stuff or don't let your kids go one the certain website." or "if you were paying attention to what they are doing you can make sure they don't go to certain sites".
But if I saw him going to the AXE website I wouldn't think it was a big deal.
There is a video on the on their site where a lady is in jail for lude behavior (because she smelled some man with AXE on). So as the reporter is reporting she pipes up from in the jail cell and says, "I going to ride that mustache right off your face"

Okay enough references. But I can't believe this stuff.
So if I put Grannycam, or whatever it is called, to block the dirty websites, it will not block this one. The sex is so subtle.
I don't even know what else to say. I can preach to you about guarding your children. I can talk to you about how if we allow this to continue who know where it will take us.
I can talk to you about how I hate the media and its slow deterioration which brings our society down with it.

I have a real problem with tolerance. I have a real problem with the slow rusting of our society.
Here is my favorite example (I saw this in a lecture about raising children)...the speaker flashed up an old Playboy magazine centerfold from back in the day and then he showed the COVER of a modern day Cosmopolitan magazine. Which one do you think was worse? You guessed it... the Cosmo. So now the cover of Cosmo is worse than the Playboy centerfold.
Things that make you go Hmmm!

Now we can go to the 7-11 and all the "almost" porn magazines are at my 9 year olds eye level. I have to bend down to see them but my kid is looking right at it.
I give the person behind the counter the business but he or she doesn't make any of the decisions.
So I can boycott 7-11?
Where would I take my kids to get their Slurpees?
Trust me if I boycotted 7-11 my kids would boycott me. Slurpees are a very big deal at our house.

Last example.
Okay, I am on my way home yesterday and I am flipping through the radio and I hear a song called, "I kissed a girl" (just in case you are thinking, "What is wrong with that?" Well a woman sings the song).
Lets go over this...
In the 80's, I remember how George Michael's song, "I want your sex" was causing all sorts of problems. Well, now we think this song is lukewarm.
Slow decay.
But you know what? IT SELLS. Controversy sells, especially in music. Just look at that kook Madonna. She has about a billion dollars because she liked to push the envelope. But don't get me started on Madonna.
But this song, "I kissed a girl", in the song it is saying how much she liked it.
Now, I don't care how you spin this song... it is bad, it is just the continuation of decay.

Do you see it? I am I the only one? Do you care, yet? When will you care? When you have kids?
When they take the 10 commandments out of our courthouses? Wait they already did this.
Will you care if they take prayer out of school? Oh wait.
What about if they change the Pledge of Allegiance?
THE FRICKING PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE!!!

I know more and more people feel the same way about things as I do but are silent. Just like I am. We are part of the silent majority. We, as the silent majority, somehow don't know how to stop the YELLING minority.
We just go to work and try to make a good living (maybe go to church) and try to raise good kids. We don't have time to start a petition or call our congressman 150 times a day to push our agenda. We don't have time to picket. We don't have time to yell.

I don't know the answer.
All I know is I don't buy this music. I don't go to stores that condone decay.
Me, I have my own agenda. It is the exact opposite of decaying. It is one of kindness and the straight and narrow. And I am going to try to push it on as many people as I can.
I preach it to whoever will listen (mostly my poor kids).
I know this is not as attractive to teens as sex songs on the radio but...
I do my part. Is it working? I don't know yet.

Hope you are having a great week,
Talk to you on Friday.
john

5 comments:

Debby Sutton said...

JG- I see your point, but where in the midst of it do we keep our kids from getting stuck in a bubble without the knowledge on how to bring the truth to their ears? In the midst of culture, our kids need to know how to, when to and why to speak the truth of the Gospel in the midst of it all. While we protect, we also need to trust that the Spirit is in their world to protect them.

So, L or N see the website -- what do you tell them? Do you present to them the reality that such behavior causes us to look down on other people -- objectifying them? Do we show them, as I know you do, that healthy marriages are loving in the right way? Do we make sure they know that they are God's living space and that they need to make sure they protect it? But, all the while preaching the truth of God's love, his mercy and his grace as we toil through this world. Our Father's world.

Have been talking about this a good bit up here in MD -- will see you all next week.

ds

Katherine Matous said...

Hello I'm Katherine; I just wanted to leave a comment for gatordmd. As I was reading your post I couldn’t believe it, it’s not everyday you read something someone else wrote and really agree with him or her 100% but you hit the nail right on with your post. I just want to say thank you for being a good dad to your son and a good husband to your wife. I also believe if we as a nation would embrace the 10 commandments our children would have a chance in today’s society to build strong foundations for themselves when they’re out on their own. But the truth is God has been kicked out by mankind which in my opinion is why our would suffers the way it does. I to have two sons one is grown 23 and the other is just 12 years old and I have to really restrict TV ect. It is nice to know that there are still some people in the world that have morels.

magx01 said...

What it inherently wrong with sex?

Also, you said this:

"But this song, "I kissed a girl", in the song it is saying how much she liked it.
Now, I don't care how you spin this song... it is bad, it is just the continuation of decay."

What is inherently wrong with a woman expressing the discovery that she enjoyed the act of kissing another woman? Can you actually produce a reason that's not just based on bigotry?

gatordmd said...

magxO1,

First I want to say thank you for the tone of your comment. I think this is a tough topic and I think you could have come to me attacking me. You didn't and I appreciate the opportunity to dialogue. I don't think I was being very PC when I wrote this. (please note I wrote this blog entry almost two years ago and I have matured since then).
And I am sorry if the blog came across as homophobic or anti-gay.

But I think it all comes down to where you get your moral compass. I get mine from the Bible. (I am not saying that if you don't get yours from the Bible you are wrong, but this is the backbone of my beliefs.) It is where I go to if I need to know how to act. The Bible is explicit on God's feelings about homosexual behavior.
"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination." It sounds kind of harsh but this is what it says.

And as a conservative, this song reminds me of the moral erosion of our teenagers (as well as our adults). I don't think it is alright to do something because it "feels good." I don't think it is alright to do something because everyone else is doing it. And I don't think that it is okay just because Katy Perry thinks it is.

Now these are just my thoughts. I don't dislike homosexuals and I am not a homophobe. In fact I have homosexuals that I call my friends. I try to live by the old adage, "Love the sinner, hate the sin." It kind of sounds quirky but it is true (because that is what Jesus did). I am a sinner and I have issues (trust me...lots of them) to and I hope people would love me regardless.

Well this is my answer. If you want to talk....I'm at Jgammichia@aol.com

Anonymous said...

This is the perfect example of what is called social disorganization, from a sociological point of view. Norms in society change over time--old norms are abandoned and new norms are brought in through deviance, like the explicit descriptions on the body wash you bought--and society has a hard time accepting them. So, to sum up, society's going to hell in a hand basket is a common view of society when one experiences social disorganization.

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