Hell’s Amazing Grace

I’m borrowing this title from Solange Hertz. She referred to electronic mass media, including television and the Internet. She described how much moral pollution they cause. She wrote this in the late nineties. Since then, cookies and tracking devices appeared to store our info, which enables any observer to study our habits and behavioral patterns. Google and its partners, for example, can draw up our profile. They know our vices, our weaknesses, our hobbies. They can tell whether we go to the gym or church, whether we drink or like to eat out or not, in short, everything. From this, they know our gender, age, race, and everything. They can tell where we will be most likely to turn out and at what time. They can predict your future more accurately than you. And they state out loud that they will turn all this info over to the authorities if they request it.

Bp. McKenna said in one of his sermons that the devil is not omnipresent like God. But he can be present in many places and be morally present through his symbols. But this was before the cookie business. Since then, not only the devil but even Uncle Sam can monitor every one of us, even outside of his borderers and jurisdiction. And scores of enterprises can know all about us. Not that the devil needs technology to spy on us, but he can’t always communicate with his minions directly.

Their excuse is that they are only trying to serve us better. Remembering our preferences is vital to that, they say. But intruders have always claimed that. They were merely trying to help! And since the nanny state became part of our lives, people are used to this. If we protest, they retort that if we have nothing to hide, we have nothing to fear. Even if this were true, who among you dear readers like to live in a glass house? Because external observers can see your every move, execration, sexual act, masturbation, prayer, etc. They can pry into your bank account if you are banking online. They see your electronic transactions, if any. They know your balance more accurately than you do. Some count how many times you pick your nose when you think nobody sees you. And you can’t see them. So your house is more like a semi-transparent cage, where outsiders can see in, yet you can’t see out. I bet they know more accurately how many traditional Catholics and sedevacantists exist than we do. Besides, observers are doing us a favor, albeit unwillingly. They contribute to our visibility. I bet they would hate to hear that! And you can partially protect yourself, as I will briefly describe. So not everything is as bleak as it seems. Why would you like to protect yourself? Because the mainstream doesn’t stand up to that monster, and if you do, you will not be part of the great crowd. Resisting the weakness of the mainstream and swimming against the flow could be a sign that you are one of the elect. Ponder that! It’s all that matters. So spit in the face of that monster! Do your research to find out how. These links are a good start.

They claim that our profiles are not accessible to anyone unless we commit an illegal act or need professional help. The operating system can crash, and they promise to help. But even if this were true, I still wouldn’t be comfy with Uncle Sam breathing down my neck. And whatever is legal today becomes illegal tomorrow and vice versa, so mine is a valid concern. Today’s political correctness might change at any time, and they can dig up anything you said today a few decades later. If you are alive at that time, imagine the consequences. You make yourself an enemy and get a tax audition, for example.

If Uncle Sam had gone down, some other superpower would’ve surged. The most likely candidates are Russia and China, but they are no better. Russia would start with a more hands-off approach since she’s not as controlling as Uncle Sam. China would be a disaster right from the start. These guys only understand brute force and raw violence, which is understandable. If you don’t recognize any God above you, anything goes. Might is right. We have wrought this on ourselves with religious pluralism and tolerance. God has given us the godless world we wished for. So we deserve it. But with Uncle Sam’s demise, we would get a break.