By now, who hasn’t heard of Hanna Montana, Hillary Duff or Britney Spears?

Even if you don’t live in America you may have teen Idols of your own. They, for the most part, are kids who may or may not possess some talents, and who have chosen to sell music, clothes, movies and fashion.

They start out as kids who want to be the next star and who, by the age of 17, end-up registering at a rehab center. As they grow older they go out of flavor and their dispensable lives are soon replaced by the next flavor of the month.

From there they go on making one bad move after another. Of course they, and everyone around them, make hundreds of millions of dollars in the process.

But this post isn’t really about them; rather on the definition of the American Idol.

Why aren’t the “idols” individuals who are free-thinkers, and stand-alones? With unique talents or even with the same talents as others, but who use the fashion, movie, and music industries and the media to their advantage, rather than the other way around? To inform their fans about the world issues such as hunger, genocide, repression or our foreign policies. I suppose if they wanted to they could expose the issues facing the first-world; pollution, social injustice, pesticides and politicians, to name a few.

I promise you -  there are teenagers far more intelligent that the millions we see hanging around the malls, dance clubs or concerts.

Teenagers are victims of our artificial societies. Their every move is dictated to them. What to wear, what to smell like, what, when and how much to drink. What songs, movies and video games to play. What and how little to eat. How, when, who with, and how often to have sex.

If you think that’s sad, it goes on and on……. what to drive, where to golf, how much money to make…. Does this remind you of anybody?

If this reminds you of yourself, pick today as the day to be reborn. Get rid of that SUV and the golf clubs that you drag around in it, to use on the pesticide-laden courses. Instead, spend that time with your friends and family.

Stop striving to make more money in order to make more purchases. Perhaps you can limit your alcohol consumption to one glass of red wine a day (that does not translate to seven glasses per weekend). While you’re at it, why not try to quit smoking.

Pay down your debt. Buy organic. Buy the smallest possible vehicle for your personal need. Demand the same from your government by supporting and voting for the greenest political party. Be nice to everyone you see amd meet.

Be that true “idol”. I guarantee you will like and be proud of what you accomplish. And if you find that you do not like the results, you can always go back to your robot-like life.   

By now everyone has certainly heard about the 70+ year old Austrian man that enprisoned one of his daughters in his basement for decades. For those who have not heard, this man repeatedly raped his daughter, fathering 7 children with her.  One died as an infant? and he burnt the child’s body.

All seven were born in the basement under his wife’s nose; she was totally unaware of the situation. Years earlier he had told his wife  that their daughter had ran away and joined a cult. The children range in ages nineteen to twelve, I think.

He had brought three of them upstairs, telling his wife that their daughter had left them at their doorstep. The other three had never seen daylight. It wasn’t till just a few weeks ago that one became very ill and he finally had to take her to the hospital. The media and the hospital desperately tried to locate her mother for help and it was only then that he finally released his daughter and that is when he got exposed and confessed.

Ironically this is not the first time a similar incident has surfaced in Austria.

So what is going on over there? Is there something in the water?

I’m really interested in finding out if there are any environmental reasons behind it and I would like to know the psychological background.

Those are just two of the questions posed by the scientist in me. However, what I would most like to have an answer about is why this poor girl had to suffer this oppression; for what good reason did this poor girl and her even more innocent kids have to suffer so, and will continue to suffer mentally and genetically?

Was he a particularly religious man? So does God enter into this at all? Not just from his perspective, but God’s own wisdom. If it sounds like I’m questioning God’s wisdom, it’s true. I would love to know the reasoning behind it, please. Somebody help me understand so that the next time  it happens (and it will happen again, in fact it’s probably happening as you read this) I will not be as perplexed by it and might be able to explain it to others.