Chapter Fourteen: Popular Culture – A Decadent Indulgence
Table of Contents
Introduction
1. Communist Party Culture
2. Communism’s Subversion of Western Mass Culture
3. Pop Culture and Social Chaos
a. Hip-Hop and Rock-and-Roll
b. Drug Abuse
c. Pornography
d. Video Games
e. The Culture of Violence
f. Decadent Fashion
Conclusion
References
Introduction
God created mankind, and over the long course of history, laid down an orthodox culture for mankind to live by. Although the nations of the world have different cultures, their core is strikingly consistent. All ethnic groups in the East and the West attach importance to the virtues of sincerity, kindness, generosity, justice, moderation, humility, courage, selflessness, and the like — virtues that every nation has paid tribute to and taught their descendants through their classics. Common in these virtues is the paying of homage to God and loyalty to God’s commandments—because it is God who handed down the culture and code of conduct that mankind should possess and embody. This is the origin of universal values.
The Founding Fathers of the United States attached great importance to morality and etiquette. In his early years, President Washington personally copied out 110 Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation. [1] Although some of the specifics may change over time, there are many universals: that one must be reverent when talking about gods and related matters; that one must uphold morality, respect others, be modest, treat people appropriately, pay attention to public morality, not harm others’ feelings and interests, behave decently on all occasions, dress neatly and exemplify good taste, refrain from retaliatory language, refrain from speaking ill of others behind their backs, learn from the wise and good, keep a conscience and so on. Similarly, Benjamin Franklin’s thirteen virtues were temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility. The spirit is fully in accordance with Washington’s one 110 rules. [2]
Before the 1950s, the moral standards of most people generally met a respectable, common standard. People in the East and West retained many of the traditions and customs that humans should have. Even in China after 1949, although communism had begun to ruin China’s heritage, slaughter the elite, and corrupt morality in a systematic way, the public retained many of the traditional virtues that held sway before the Party usurped power.
With the expansion of the communist camp, communists further promoted their plans. Especially after the 1960s, people in the East and West went further and further down the road of moral corruption.
The Party’s Cultural Revolution began in 1966 with the campaign to eradicate the Four Olds, which lasted a decade, followed by the fierce counterculture movement of the United States in the 1960s, as well as the anti-traditional movements—mainly promoted by the young—that spread through the world. All these were global events that unfolded for the purpose of destroying tradition and causing humanity to deviate from long-held moral standards.
These political and cultural movements have left deep scars in today’s world. Since that time, the traditional cultural foundations of Chinese society have been completely destroyed, and morality has been in rapid decline. In Western society, rock music, drug abuse, sexual liberation and promiscuity, homosexuality, the hippie culture, and spiritual emptiness, have taken hold, seriously damaging the foundation of Western tradition.
After the young radicals of the counterculture found themselves pulling the levers in society, they continued their movement by other means. Avant-garde art and literature, modern ideologies, and deviant concepts were all brought together. With the help of television, computers, the internet, mobile phones, and various mass media, the entire human race quickly deviated from traditional culture and life, heading toward the abyss of deviance and degradation.
If we look at the world, especially in recent decades, the decline of human morality and the corruption of almost every aspect of popular culture and social life is shocking to behold. After the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) destroyed the profound traditional Chinese culture through incessant political mobilizations, it created an evil system of Party culture. The younger generation grew up in this Party culture and knew nothing about traditional, divinely inspired culture. With the exception of some segments of society in the West holding to tradition and refusing to be tempted and suborned, it would be fair to say that the communism has almost succeeded in achieving its goal of ruining human culture across the world.
1. Communist Party Culture
After the Communist Party’s “reform and opening up” of the 1980s, the conduct of the Chinese people when they went abroad shocked citizens of other countries. At the time, many Westerners retained the impression of the traditional Chinese people as gentle, courteous, modest, kind, hardworking, and simple. However, after decades of brainwashing and transformation by the Communist Party, the Chinese people had completely changed. They became rude and spoke loudly. They wouldn’t stand in lines or be respectful and quiet in public. They smoked in front of no-smoking signs. They dressed in a slovenly manner, spit on the sidewalk, and tossed litter. They would readily take advantage of others.[See Full Text in PDF]
