If you were given the opportunity to meet with a vicious criminal, a drug dealing murderer responsible for the deaths of hundreds of innocent people, a recent prison escapee who was a fugitive from justice and who had recently escaped from prison, what would you do?
If you are Sean Penn, you covertly accept the invitation and evade detection in order to meet with the man. You pose for pictures shaking his hand and write a story for a national magazine. You then give the criminal the final edit of the story so he can be sure he is portrayed in a favorable light.
And, because you are Sean Penn, you can be certain that you will face no criminal charges and will suffer no damage to your reputation or future acting opportunities as a result of your arrogance. In the western world, rules and laws are for the little people, not for celebrities.
As I read the story of Mr. Penn’s interview with the Mexican drug lord El Chapo I wondered how we arrived at such a place in our society. I am not so naïve as to expect perfection from famous people but I did expect them to possess some form of a moral compass, to care at least a little about being at least a little bit truthful or nice. I did not think that even the most low-life of celebrities would be supportive ofthe mass murdering head of adrug cartel.
I guess I was foolishly optimistic. I should have known that a man who had been fawned over for his entire adult life and whose talent gave him access to world leaders and power brokers would think he was entitled to meet with anyone he wanted for any reason at any time. Sean Penn was curious as to how a man like El Chapo came to be and his curiosity was all that mattered. Curiosity was more important than justice and fairness or right and wrong.
As I read about Penn and El Chapo the thought occurred to me that we may have cultivated a generation of Sean Penns. Many young people I meet are driven by personal desire more than they are by a moral code. There is no sense of duty to society as a whole orto anyone else individually. This is why so many in the current generation feel comfortable building up massive debt they do not plan to repay, using illegal drugs without regard for the law or future physical harm, orlying in order to get a job they want or a sexual partner they desire. Wanting something is what matters and when something is wanted there is no need to consider if it is right or wrong.
This type of thinking is the natural outcome of the post-modern thinking that dominates the modern world, a philosophy that denies the existence of absolute truth or a transcendent moral code. When we throw away external standards, when every person decides for themselves what is right and wrong, it should not surprise us if we are surrounded by fools like Sean Penn.
While there is nothing I can do to impact Mr. Penn's thinking, I am not hopeless. I have raised children who know the difference between right and wrong and I do all I can to remind others that absolute truth exists, that there is a God and that He has communicated His moral code to mankind. (I have even written a book about it!) The lie of post modernism needs to be exposed, countered and attacked. When truth is lost, only foolishness remains.
- Bart
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Photo by Seher Sikandar for rehes creative licensed through creative commons