CONSERVATIVES, LET’S GET RID OF THE FOOLISHNESS AND THE SLEAZE THEY’VE BEEN SPREADING.

Despite the fact that it is a scriptural admonition that is taken from a letter written by Paul to the church in Ephesus, the call to confront the gravity of the spiritual conflict is applicable to those who are involved in the work of reportage, those who are involved in the halls of congress, and those who are engaged in civically conscious laborers on the street. And what exactly is that warning? “Because we do not fight against flesh and blood, but rather against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, and against spiritual wickedness in high places,” the Bible says. Revelation 6:12 It is quite evident that this warning is a call to acknowledge that life and all of our devotion to God or man is a matter of the utmost importance. More than anything else, it serves as a reminder that this is not a playground but rather a battleground. For those who are able to look beyond the confluence of all things – or the urgency of the moment – the gravity of life will always far outweigh the levity with which it is punctuated. However, we are unable to stop the rest of them from partying, plundering, or wasting their time and energy on foolishness. I was one of the first people to write articles for the internet, and one of the titles of those pieces was “The Internet Right — Are they Doing it Right?” Some of the websites that I highlighted in that essay that were considered to be conservative or right-wing no longer exist, but a great number of other websites have taken their place. Since I wrote that column, it has been plainly evident that conservatives have been subjected to a severe battering in both the political and spiritual arenas. Do not be concerned; it seems like a rebirth, a renewal, and a resurgence are on the horizon. One thing that has changed, and certainly not for the better, is that a significant number of the most prominent conservative websites of today are moving toward high levels of commercialism. Large-scale landing page initiatives have been more focused on obtaining advertisements and collecting money via the sale of books, souvenirs, health miracle goods, conferences, and donations. A few of the script advertisements, which are advertisements that are regularly altered at the whim of the advertiser, portray women with their bodies exposed to the naked eye and striking sexual positions. They have the intention of drawing attention to themselves, and they are succeeding in doing so. On the other hand, are the websites that let them unable to comprehend the point? In the event that it is a call to a previous morality, a higher morality, or simply any morality at all, the question arises as to whether or not we are becoming a part of the issue. The maintenance of my website needs me to visit other websites around 35 to 50 times each day on average. You will not discover any scientific studies that demonstrate the extent of this phenomenon; nevertheless, you will find that there are no such studies. In my search, I find that sleazy small advertisements show around six out of ten times. Surprisingly, it is not simply websites with a left slant that are breaking the rules; rather, conservative websites and blogs, as well as Christian websites, are progressively falling into the sleaze market. Despite the fact that this age may be the one in which nothing is sacrosanct, that is precisely the idea. Where the line is drawn is up to each individual site; however, it is important to keep in mind that the way in which people perceive the salting of those sites is how they determine whether or not the site has lost its flavor (Matthew 5:13), and it may also determine whether or not they return to that site. An little amount of sleazy content could seem to have no substantial impact on the culture, but this is not the case. The fundamentals of cultures, or the mechanisms that govern them, suggest that this is not the case. In the process of transforming milk into yogurt, for instance, the milk is injected with a very little quantity of starter bacteria. These bacteria develop and transform hundreds of gallons of milk into yogurt. A very little amount of sleaze may also be used to promote the culture of the United States. In response to the fact that we allow even the smallest things to taint our finest behaviors, the Apostle Paul stated, “A little leaven leaveneth the entire lump.” It is not surprising that he made this statement. (Genesis 5:9) According to another interpretation of what Jesus stated, “He who is loyal in that which is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.” (10th verse of Luke 16) My eyes see what children may see, they see what all decent people see, and all that is left to do is to ponder the insult, the offense, the shock, and the disappointment that they must experience. No one could call the internet the home of good conscience, and certainly no one has appointed me as the pastor of the internet. However, my eyes see what children may see. Due to the fact that there are no FCC regulations, better publishing groups, or general rules of behavior for the internet, all of the policing of the online is done entirely by each and every website that is now available. I would want to issue a straightforward warning: if it is irrelevant to the different websites what users see when they first access the site, then how can we possibly persuade anybody that our material, our articles, our videos, and our reporting, as well as our basic mission, are important issues? Then, along comes the TV cable and network news sites, which are spreading the most recent works of pop-culture filth while simultaneously laughing or talking about how amusing everything is. One of the most well-known morning shows recently featured a model who walked down the catwalk for Victoria’s Secret’s lingerie show while wearing a diamond covered bra that was worth 10 million dollars. Not only were the conservative critics fawning over the model and her glittering bejeweled bra, but they were also gasping and looking at each other with goggled eyes of surprise. They seemed to be hovering somewhere between fascinated and charmed, much as if they were suspended in fairy land. Are all of these things just so lovely; are they amusing, appealing, and worthy of praise? How can we continue to call ourselves conservatives if we have to beg conservatives to behave in a conservative manner and to cease giving in to the unrestrained commercialism and reckless advertising that is so prevalent in the arena of television and the internet in the present day? If we want the country to experience a revival of everything, is it time for us to get our own home in order? Should we be doing this? The essays and reports written by Reverend Michael Bresciani, a journalist, have been posted on American Prophet.org since 2005. In addition, this website also features news and reviews, which has earned it the moniker of “The Website for Insight.” His timely reports and writings have been published in print and online journals and magazines and have been read by millions of people all over the world and nationwide. Please follow us on both Facebook and Twitter.