Several years ago, I was published in The Jewish State, which is a Central NJ newspaper and my article was about what I called “The Britney Spears Phenomenon.” Simply put I found it problematic that these young stars get money, power and position at an early age when they are simply not able to handle the spiritual side of their prominence.
In our day and age, things that were formerly thought of as abnormal and deviant behavior have now become the norm. Homosexuality was considered to be a mental illness according to the mental health profession as per the Diagnostic Statistical Manual version 3 but in the updated version, it is not considered such as it is thought not being able to hamper a person from making a living. The DSM is the “Bible” of the mental health profession.
Atheletes, models and actors all use performance-enhancing drugs to either enhance their athletic ability or their visual appearance. It is so wide-spread that it is virtually impossible to put it out of business.
Many orthodox Jews shield themselves from this by not having a TV and even not buying newspapers. I lived in some of the most ultra-orthodox neighborhoods of Jerusalem and Brooklyn, so I know about all of this.
And in Lakewood, NJ a rabbinical group made a ruling that no one can have a computer with Internet connection if they have children unless the computer is in a room that can be locked. It's not due to being overly sensitive that this is done, but due to the vast potential for evil that can happen if the Internet is used unwisely.
It's a general principal in spirituality that where there is a great potential for good, evil can also flourish there. It's actually an immutable law.
Some years ago, I was in the Alexander Library at the New Brunswick, NJ campus of Rutgers University and some one with a yarmulke was watching porno sites. I said to myself, at least he should take the skull cap off rather than create a chillul Hashem or a “desecration of God's name.”
So to leave off, I say we need to put on the armor God gives us: A helmet of salvation, a sword of the spirit, a breastplate of righteousness, a waist girded about with truth, feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, and a shield of faith. We need to take the world back out of the enemy's hands and put it back in God's.
