“You Can’t Fight the Evil of the World from the Belly of the Beast”

The quote in the title above tells us why we need to distance ourselves from the beast, from Babylon. It is very easy to be co-opted. And from the beast's perspective the cost is rather cheap, most of us will settle for our MTV.

One step that needs to be considered is to "cut the cable." I just received my monthly call from Time Warner, confused and hurt as to why I do not have cable—it is only $50 a month more! All those channels. I said that I was happy with my lack of cable, and no, I did not want a telephone. I wonder how they train their operators to get that perfect combination of enthusiasm and disappointment. I get everything I want from Netflix, and it is cheaper too.

We just watched That Darn Cat. Watching it reminded me that there is so much fun entertainment in older movies and shows. One additional factor is that my Russian wife has never seen any of these movies because she was raised on Russian movies. She summarized the plot the next day for some friends. They had not seen it for years. I think we will watch the Parent Trap next, the original one, of course—then some Perry Mason, the old black and white one. Maybe we will watch some more old Disney. I do not need Charlie Sheen. No one needs Charlie Sheen.

One reason I started this blog was my meditation on the need to leave the system as much as possible, to do as Jesus suggested, to be in the world but not of the world. But alas, I fear that my recent emphasis on politics is a symptom of being too much in the system. The crisis in the debt ceiling is an important topic, but so are the other issues I want to talk about. But on the other hand, understanding the wacky world we live in and its politics is a part of the process to leave the system.

I am not saying that we cannot have some "guilty TV pleasures." The title of this post was actually said by a popular TV vampire. Even a fictional vampire understands the "violence inherent in the system."

The poor Time Warner lady is going to be so disappointed in me. I plan to switch to DSL.