We've visited St. Dominic's Medical Arts building often over the past month due to Angie's post-stroke follow-up doctors' appointments. Aside from some of the most poorly designed "medical mall" architecture I've experienced firsthand (late '80s Barlow & Plunkett), it's a place not unlike the Jackson Zoological Park or any local Mississippi public library.
In what way, you ask?
The hospital draws people from all around our state for medical care, therefore in terms of its populace, it serves as an excellent cross sectional representation of what typical Mississippians look like. And, there's no doubt that hands down we're the ugliest, most grotesque people in the Union. And this, I believe, is why so many people refuse to live here.
Mostly, this reality relative to our populace is perpetuated by the epidemic of obesity here in the Magnolia State, but I'm sure some of it simply has to do with genetics.
So, you mix those personally repetitive, yet sobering experiences in with a smattering of online news and entertainment, and for me, there's not only willful motivation but a means to escape those experiences - at least temporarily.
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Before the Internet brought us "news" around the clock (via media outlets - URLs - monitoring what we consumed as such in order to tailor their content to suit our appetites), there were daily newspapers and nightly TV news programs. And these were available every day of the week, but obviously their existence was a captured one. In other words, as news outlets, they had one 24-hour shot at relaying their findings to the American public, therefore this precipitated a much high level of executive editing relative to both content, format, and scale (amount of time/space spent on one article/newsworthy event) than we see today.
Because of this, news reporters / journalists were a much more respected lot, and as such, were understood as necessary. Plus, none of them looked like Barbie dolls.
It's similar to the narrative behind the American pastor. Prior to 24/7 televangelists (who're constantly asking for $$$), pastors were confined to their pulpits on Sunday mornings. As such, both their roles and content were and were seen as very different.
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I'm a reader through and through. Reading for me comes super easy. It doesn't, nor has it ever, felt like work to me. Therefore, I enjoy it.
I'm also an amateur researcher. Once my interest is topically piqued, and I have the time / energy to spare, I'll dig.
Taking those attributes into consideration, there ain't no more interesting topic to me than those which are sex-laden. (And I know I'm not in the minority here.)
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Over the course of the past few weeks, a very prominent news story broke regarding the (now) former president of a sizable, private Christian college in the Midwest. The news outlet that broke the story is a highly respected one (Reuters). I read this piece, and frankly, due to its salacious and sin-laden content, it made a distinct impression on me.
Soon thereafter, other news outlets "expounded on" the story by also paying the source (the love interest) for additional juicy details. Once I was made aware of those follow up stories (Matt Drudge's aggregate news site), I too read them, but this time it was from a completely didn't point of view.
No longer was this news. It was smut. And I love smut.
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Mississippians look like the Baron in 1984's "Dune" because they love to eat garbage whilst being averse to physical exercise, and these truths are perpetuated by categorical ignorance relative to health & wellness. When you love something (whether or not it's tied to ignorance), you do it often, and when one is consuming garbage (especially combined with zero exercise), it's going to have seriously harmful consequences to both your health and physical appearance. Taking that truth into account, when everyone looks similarly ugly, no one has a reason to personally care anymore. It's just a big 'ol wad of mass stupidity.
Last night, my youngest daughter and I finished screening a fantasy film from 2014 that I picked up a year or so ago. The film was in the bargain DVD bin, therefore no doubt that summarizes its cultural impact. Nonetheless, the film is costumed exquisitely and the actors are extraordinarily beautiful whilst cavorting around there on set in breathtaking British Columbia.
My daughter in fact stated repeatedly how "hot" the young actor was whom played the protagonist. And I agreed. But so were the ladies who traipsed around in their heavy cosmetics and revealing, sexy garb.
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Prior to falling asleep last night, I let my imagination run wild as yet another week came to an end, taking everything that I've described above into account - reality here in Mississippi, historical reality elsewhere (supposedly) within the Midwest, and cheap cinematic fantasy. And as a result, I was highly entertained for those few minutes, and of course, seemingly in complete control of my own version of a very sex-laden re-imagining of all this that was knocking around within my head.
What's tragic about this is I'm no different than my fellow Mississippians. Just as grotesque. Just as ugly. But the ugliness is seeded within my heart. And that ugliness is disguised as normal.
Gluttony produces visible ramifications. Lust too, but moreso to our Heavenly Father who sees inside of each man. God help me to take my future thoughts captive in lieu of aloofly laying waste to this temple of the Holy Spirit. I know better than to do this.
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