It seems everything has now been said about the life and death of Michael Jackson. The news media have been hammering away, day after day, glorifying this man as the greatest star of all times. People have wept and wailed because he is no more. They have even compared him to Mozart.
Sadly, even a French magazine for nobility is glorifying Jackson |
But wait – why all this glory and adulation? His life doesn’t bear it out. He was a man haunted not by tragedy, but by vice and degeneracy.
The effect that music has on a person is not the subject of new research. It has long been known that music is one of the most powerful arts because it molds the whole human person, body and soul. Indirectly, it plays a role in shaping society either for good or for evil, for the formation of good character or for vice.
As far back as Plato, the ancient Greek philosopher, the power of music was recognized. Plato wrote that music is an art that sinks into the depths of the soul and remains there. He firmly believed that music should be used to educate youth because of its capacity to mold character by its power of suggestion.
Recent studies have found that soothing classical music - Mozart, in particular - can develop the intelligences of babies as well as their coordination, memory and concentration, along with a host of other positive results. Bad music, on the other hand, can thwart and deform character, confirming what Plato taught so long ago.
It was not only the words, but also the beat or rhythm, that subverts. Certain rhythms – by the uniformity of their beats – have a hypnotic effect. Researchers found that plants subjected to rock music wilted, while those put near classical music flourished. They found that some rhythms possessed the power to evoke certain body and emotional responses, such as the power to relax or to enervate, to induce calmness or anger, to move persons to love or to hate something, to glorify (as in our patriotic songs) or to trivialize and make vulgar (as in some of our post-Vatican II songs).
Healthy formation: Youth performing in a Mozart concert |
The hypnotic effects of these rhythms unlock the subconscious and make a person more open to the ideas suggested in the words. This makes a serious connection of music with revolution, revolt, immorality, addiction to drugs, tendency to suicide and practice of Satanism – all so prevalent in today’s world.
Aristotle, the great competitor of Plato, also had much to say on the subject. Music works on the will, he explains, through representation. He noted that music directly represents the passions or states of the soul: gentleness, courage and temperance – as well as their opposite qualities.
Hence, when one listens to music that represents a certain passion, one is invited to experience that same passion. If, over a long period of time, one habitually listens to the kind of music that arouses ignoble passions, one’s whole character will be strongly inclined to those passions. Both Plato and Aristotle believed that music affects almost everything, having some indirect influence even over the governance of the State.
Church Fathers and Saints, such as St. Gregory the Great, have confirmed those principles when setting out rules on the sacred music appropriate to be played in churches. Think about the elevation and serenity of the Gregorian Chant, so called in honor of that great Pontiff. This early concern for appropriate sacred music was always present in the Church. An author who presents the qualities of polyphonic chant quite well is Palestrina, whose serious and elegant music befits the presence of God in the Tabernacle: "Be still and know that I am God." (Psalm 46: 10)
This short inspection into the subject shows that music has an enormous power over the sensibilities and will of man, and that this power can be used to form either good or evil characters, a healthy or a degenerate society. It was once believed that the culture and art of a society were mirrors that reflected its health. With this in mind, it's frightening to see the direction in which our society is headed.
Jackson’s ambience of hypnotic frenzy
When we look at what the "genius" of Michael Jackson has done, not much needs to be said about the bad influence of the beat of his music has over the fans during his concerts. The loud, hard, driving, relentless pounding of drums and synthesizers sets up an ambiance of hypnotic frenzy. It opens the soul to the messages of the songs, delivered at a volume almost unendurable to the human ear. For the common person, that noise crowds out any possibility of analyzing or rejecting the messages the words transmit. Only acceptance is possible.
 
The "genius" of Jackson was rooted in the occult and revolt against nature |
The mob at a rock concert begin to sway as the beat overwhelms and overtakes the sensibilities, leaving reason and constraint far behind. Then add to this mix the thundering words fostering Satanism, immorality, revolution, suicide, violence, and drugs and the visual image of a man grasping himself and dancing in an overtly immoral manner - and you have a picture of the message of this "great star.”
Can a youth come home from a concert unchanged? No, it's not possible. The youth now has a different idea of authority and morals in the Church, country and family. All that the Catholic Church and parents have taught and fostered concerning purity has been countered. Revolutionary images are left in the youth's mind that perhaps will remain there forever.
Our Lady of Fatima said to the three children, "The sins that will carry the most souls to Hell will be sins against purity." One can only imagine how many sins of impurity can be laid at the feet of this "great star," his music and his dance.
Reject rock'n roll
We should have the courage to take the necessary steps to protect our families and ourselves from rock'n roll and all that surrounds it. The entire rock culture and its revolutionary "stars" must be totally rejected. We must make a resolution not to allow any of it in our homes or ambiences so that our families can develop in a healthy and pure atmosphere. Nothing will change for our families or our country unless we begin to change its morality, dress code, and customs at our own homes. With this effort and the protection of Our Lady, our beloved country will have a hope for the restoration we all long for.
If my people who are called by My Name, humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked way, then will I hear from the heavens, and forgive their sin and heal their land (2 Paralipomenon 7:14).
Posted July 20, 2009
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