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Information junk food - you are what you eat

The phrase "you are what you eat" has never been more true. Our consumption of information junk food is at an all-time high and many are suffering simultaneously from information obesity and knowledge malnutrition.

It is ironic that we live in an age when the knowledge and wisdom of the ages is freely available, spread out before us in a rich profusion that was unimaginable even a few decades ago. And yet so many people are literally starving their minds and wasting their lives by consuming a steady diet of vapid entertainments and one-sided news that is nothing more than bombastic hot air.

So why, in the midst of riches, do so many choose the lesser part? What has become of our character? How is it possible that we have the GPS, but are still lost?

Many good people I know talk of the need to return to Christian values. But what does that mean? The phrase "Christian values" means different things to different people. Those who are attracted to their own gender can attest to this.

Personally, I think our cultural soil has become depleted through our too-intense focus on the economic activities of producing and consuming. We are impoverished by an unbalanced emphasis on individual achievement over concern for how our actions affect the people and the world around us.

I wonder if perhaps we should be talking directly of honestly, integrity, giving back, and paying forward. Instead of talking about casting our bread upon the waters, or karma, maybe we should tell our children "treat others how you want to be treated". In any case, we ought to wish peace, love and music to all!

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