If you want to know how tough someone is, put the fear of
death in them. When the light fixtures at a studio where young Hillary Clinton and
Bill were having a TV interview, she thought she was going to die, calling on
Jesus, Mary and Joseph!
Today she is a self proclaimed atheist, denying the right of the unborn and persecuting Christians. Yet as Dolly Patton said, “I don’t see many death-bed atheist, when the time comes, they all start cramming. Death is inevitable and calls out all our pretenses because when death calls, truth answers. The best advice is to live as you wish to die.
Watch Senator Ted Cruz speak on Hillary’s views on abortion below
All the forces on this planet will never beat that of a mother’s love. The video of a mother deer that ran in to save her young from the jaws of a crocodile, offering herself to the crocodile in place has proved the saying true. Seeing her little child struggling to get out of reach of a giant crocodile racing to make a snack of him, mother deer jumped into the lake and placed herself between her baby and the crocodile. Steel jaws soon clamped and dragged her under water in a pool of blood, a proof of true motherhood.
Equally amazing is the video of a Lapwing bird braving farming machinery to protect her egg, not budging at all to the huge steel contraption overhead, but instead raised its wings to protect her eggs, another powerful example of the virtue of sacrificial love of true mothers.
If lower creatures are capable of such noble deeds, then higher creatures like human should be capable of nobler deeds. Unfortunately this is not the case. In many parts of the world human mothers shed the blood of their children to save themselves.
In 1973, the US Supreme Court decided that mothers could abort their unborn children at all trimesters of pregnancy for any reason whatsoever. This grievous decision called Roe vs. Wade has put human mothers beneath the deer and the lapwing bird, and has led to countless deaths since then. Every year, according to WHO, an estimated 40-50 million are killed via abortions. This corresponds to approximately 125,000 children killed per day by their own mothers.
Studies claim that many of these mothers choose abortion because having a baby would dramatically interfere with their education, work or ability to care for their dependents or when they have no other choice, given their limited resources and existing responsibilities to others. Well, mother deer had good reasons too to abandon her baby. She knew that saving that baby would cost her life, but she did it anyway.
In the same way, the lapwing bird must have felt that she had no other choice than to flee the metal tractor, yet she braced herself for impact, ready to die rather than abandon her eggs, her unborn chicks. And to think of it, not all her eggs are wanted, or planned. Male lapwing often mount without asking permission, yet once the deed is done, she is ready to die and as mother birds she loves each more than her life.
Shamefully, in these same countries where mothers are encouraged to kill their children, dying for country and for others is revered—yet their muddled minds fail to grasp that abortions are the opposite of the virtues they revere –a cowardly, deliberate assault on innocent human lives
The mainstream media and social media perhaps are responsible for the sad muddling of minds. Puppets in the hands of the cliques who own them, they are bent on propagating whatever they want while using the sledge hammer threat of “smear campaign” to knock every one into servile obedience.
Thankfully the deer and the lapwing are not rational animals. They are thus impervious to unrelenting propaganda of the dark and sinister, screeching for wholesale abandonment of the very laws of concord that makes rationality rational.
A creature cannot be greater than its creator
How come such noble instincts inhere in such wild beasts? Who put it there?
Christians believe that God created all creatures, and thus they bear a certain resemblance to God, most especially man, created in the image and likeness of God. The manifold perfections of creatures – their truth, their goodness, their beauty all reflect the infinite perfection of God. Consequently we can name God by taking his creatures” perfections as our starting point, “for from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator (CCC41)
Who else would put sacrificial love in animals if not Sacrificial love itself? Like an artist’s great mind is reflected on his canvas so the goodness in creatures is a reflection of the mind of God. And, just like mother deer gave her life to save her child, Christians believe that God, in the person of Jesus Christ, gave His life to save sinners.
Yet, those who advocate that human mothers behave less nobly than beasts are sadly mistaken, because a mother’s love is powerful precisely because she is ready to give up her life in defense of her child. This is true for mother deer, but equally true of human mothers.
There is a saying that the most beautiful woman has not yet been born. If a husband does not guard his eyes, he will ditch his wife. Basket ball superstar, Kobe Bryant (25) learnt this the hard way in 2003 when a 19 yro woman accused him of raping her in his hotel room.
Facing a 25 yrs to life jail sentence, he initially rebutted the allegation, but when police told him they had evidence, he firmly denied raping her but confessed to having sex with her which was adultery against his wife of two years and mother of his daughter. Further probe exposed strings of affairs with other women unknown to his wife.
Due to inconsistency in the woman’s testimonies and her refusal to testify in court, the case never went to trial and was settled out of court. Yet, much damage has been done to Bryant’s career but more important, to his marriage. His wife, Vanessa, felt deeply betrayed and humiliated but unlike other woman didn’t immediately file for divorce.
Perhaps, she understood what most people do not understand: adulterous men are often victims of their own weaknesses: a deep inclination to respond sexually to the sight of any beautiful woman.
In the video, “Sex and the power of visuals,” Dennis Prager argues that the mere sight of a beautiful woman alone is enough to sexual arouse an average normal man yet it takes far more to arouse a woman. That is why men spend millions annually to see women with little or no clothing on. Magazines market their products with pictures of women with little to no clothing on, or even parts of women, like legs and breasts. (See video below)
On the other hand, many women commit adultery not because of an overwhelming sex urge on sighting a handsome man, but because they are looking for something or are in one form of trouble or another. In many cases, financial difficulties push wives into adultery, especially when their husbands are struggling financially or when they are emotionally or sexually dissatisfied or desire children that their husbands can’t give; studies also show that women are more attracted to men who are successful–superstars, men with money.
At a net worth of millions of dollars, Kobe had lots of female fans who would literally do anything for him, no holds barred, even setting sexual traps. As the story went his rape accuser had offered to show him the tattoo on her back.
To be faithful, it therefore means that a man must guard his eyes and thus his heart. An involved effort not to “look” at a beautiful woman is hard swallow for many men, yet with little effort of self-mastery, it can be learnt. There is a subtle difference between “looking” and “seeing”. A man can “see” a woman without necessarily “looking” at her–which is taking in the details of her size, shape and figure. A husband who is looking at a woman who isn’t his wife is merely looking for trouble and is on a short route to infidelity. It goes without saying that husbands who watch internet pornography are willing dupes of Satan who has them bound in cast iron chains on the path to marital destruction.
Forgiveness and mercy
Many spouses wouldn’t be quick to run to divorce courts if they knew that in most cases, adultery stems from weakness on the part of the offending spouse rather than malice or an absence of love. Studies show that 56% of husbands who admitted to cheating said that they were happy with their marriages while 34% of adulterous wives rated their marriage as “happy”.When spouses better understand the factors enabling adultery, they can easily overcome angst and work towards helping their spouses overcome their weaknesses.
Vanessa Bryant overcame her angst and “manned” up to the task of helping her husband overcome his failings by talking with a priest.
“One thing that really helped me during that process was talking to a priest and that was the turning point,” Kobe told GQ Magazine.
“It was actually kind of funny: He looks at me and says, ‘Did you do it?’ And I say, ‘Of course not.’ Then he asks, ‘Do you have a good lawyer?’ And I’m like, ‘Uh, yeah, he’s phenomenal.’ So then he just said, ‘Let it go. Move on. God’s not going to give you anything you can’t handle, and it’s in his hands now. This is something you can’t control. So let it go.”
Talking with a priest or going for “spiritual direction” is not only popular among Catholics like Kobe and Venessa Bryant, but is often practiced by many people unawares. People seek the advice of a mechanic or a plumber because they know more about cars and plumbing. Likewise when sick, people go to speak to a doctor. Bryant was spiritually sick, he cheated on his wife and was facing jail term; he was in need of spiritually healing and needed talk with a good mender of bad souls.
Everyone who has read the bible is familiar with the story of King David who committed adultery with Uriah’s wife and to cover up his crimes had Uriah killed in a battle, but God sent the prophet Nathan to talk to him and acknowledged his sins and repented.
When people are ill, they go to a doctor, and not just any doctor but a good doctor. Accordingly, couples should do what in business is called “due diligence” to find the best spiritual consultant to solve their problems. Be he a priest, a relative or a friend, he should be a person who leads a worthy life, with a deep piety, wisdom, experience, maturity, zeal for souls and an unquestionable faithfulness to all the Church’s teaching. He need not have formal training in spiritual direction.
Couples should remember that it’s not just a one off talk; they should try to make it a regular visit because healing can take many years and the root cause of infidelity may lie in deep recesses difficult to reach. Thus regular spiritual direction will help couples talk over issues relating to their marriage and family, work, friendship, and social life and this can bring them closer together. There should be an effort to address a very particular area of their life which needs improvement, that defect or fault that keeps them from making more rapid progress. From time to time they may simply need to unburden themselves of unexpected joys and sorrows that come their way. If they are seeing a priest for direction, they may also want to avail themselves of the Sacrament of Penance, adding the sacramental grace to the actual graces received from being open and docile in spiritual direction.
Thus every spouse should know that adultery isn’t necessarily the end of marriage. If the offending spouse is served understanding, forgiveness and mercy rather than divorce papers, marital harmony may return even richer. This was how the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant saved their marriage and they have been married for 18 years now with 4 adorable children.
Her eyes were diamonds, sparkling brightly when she laughed. Leah Sharibu was only 14 in February 2018 when she and over a hundred of her companions were abducted from their school in Dapchi, by boko haram, the Islamic terrorist group that has been devastating parts of Northern Nigerian for decades. She celebrated her 16th birthday yesterday, Tuesday 14th May, in Sambisa forest.
They had broken into her school like infernal spirits, eyes red like open wounds; breath, foul and putrid. Their laughter like clanging steel frightened the captured girls whom they herded like lambs into waiting Lorries and driven to the forest by night.
The girls knew neither where they were nor why they were there. Hunger and tiredness overwhelmed them. Bugs and flies tormented them. They cried until they could cry no more, and realizing that the dirty jackals could never be move by tears, they ceased wailing and collapsed in exhausted sleep.
When they woke, they realized their captors thirst for blood, cruelty and hideousness was just beginning. Soon, thugs ordered them to renounce their Christian faith and accept Islam, in exchange for their freedom. Repulsive fiends! Who would want to worship the god that made you so foul?
The ogres promised the girls freedom and food and many too tired and weak to resist, they broke down and gave in, and gave the yellow fanged jackals all they wanted. Only Leah stood firm. She will not succumb and the trees danced for joy.
Shortly afterward, they released all the yielding girls, except Leah. They then announced via social media that according to their Islamic faith, Leah was now their slave, and that they were permitted to do whatever they liked her.
O infernal vermin, who permitted you to do vile things in the name of God!! You permitted yourselves to do violence to a religion of peace!!
News of the freed girls broke the internet and parents and relatives jubilated, but for Leah’s mother, however, it was a nightmare just unfolding; she wept herself blind for her sweet child still in captivity, and called for help till her voice broke. For 2 yrs, little seems to have been done, and nothing may be done for many years to come.
Like the Christian martyrs of old, Lear is ready to die for her faith. Still, how hard it was for her to watch her companions fall one after another, swept by fear, one by one, till she was all alone, like a lone leaf left on a storm swept tree. With no one to lean on, no friend, yet the Angels are with her. Her captors must have howled and jeered with their disembodied voices, flies and venom spewing between their crimson fangs.
They are fools, though. Leah has chosen to serve in heaven rather than to reign in hell, and her love is mightier than their hate, and for that we salute her. Her parent salutes her, her family salutes her, her kinsmen salutes her, her village salutes, and her Nation salutes her.
She may die before any one lifts a finger to save her, yet her blood would water the tree of life for generations of Christians yet unborn. The Christian faith that they seek to extinguish in Nigeria will only grow stronger because of her witness, her blood. If she accepts death in bondage, she would have accepted a temporal bondage that would yield eternal freedom in Heaven and it’s not a bad deal; though few know it.
Her companions testified that she sang daily in her cell praising God’s name. Her voice carries to heaven breaking the hearts of God even as a busy bee, she flirted around the forest, and did many things to ease the pains of her companion while they were with her.
But God is wisdom
The angels of God are watching keenly with flaming swords unsheathed. All but a nod from God and the heads of those infernal jackals will roll. Yet, God’s plans are all wise and He will not retract a freedom once given to men though they long misuse it.
They may imprison Lear’s body, but they cannot imprison her soul, dancing like a butterfly, touching us all with suffering. The curtain of night fell upon us the night they took her. The stars are still blinking and the winds still wailing nonstop until we see Leah free. Happy birthday Leah! May the Angels protect and keep you safe. Amen
For years now, rumors have been growing that music idol, Adele’s marriage was failing, yet many of her fans were shocked when, last week, one of her spokesperson confirmed it. There is something about her that pulls the heart’s string making everyone root for her to succeed, even in marriage. Yet, any keen observer of trends already knew where the shadow of the growing tree would fall.
The 30 year old music diva had been living (cohabiting) with 45 year old Simon Konecki, a successful entrepreneur, for 6 years before they got married. They already had a son, Angelo, in 2012, before deciding to marry secretly in 2016. It is common that couples who cohabit before marriage often discover that their marriage is like watching a rerun soccer game, lacking content, expectancy and surprise. In a short time they could begin fidgeting with the TV remote, searching for something more exciting.
The news was shocking because the singer had recently spoken of her longing to expand her family.
‘My womb is starting to ache a little bit,’ she said. ‘It’s like, ‘Baby, baby, baby. Need a baby.’ I’m not pregnant. I won’t get pregnant until the end of the tour,’ she had said not too long ago on a TV interview.
This may suggest that perhaps Simon may be the one pushing it. Her gift to him of a 400,000 euro mansion shortly before the news broke did not seem to have placated him. Having been divorced previously, he has plenty of experience, and doesn’t seem to be affected by it all. He was seen at a party the night that the news broke, having such a good time according to witnesses.
Divorce rarely benefits anyone much less the woman. It far easier for a man to walk out of one marriage and walk right into another than it is for woman to do the same. A woman’s biological sand clock runs out quickly; her beauty and fertility, resources that help her attract men, last but little and every man knows that.
Adele herself was spotted in a gay bar getting drunk with friends even as her marriage is going up in smoke. Yet there is no doubt she loves her son and wants the best for him. Both she and her husband have said that though they are getting divorced, they are committed to best interest of their child even as they rip apart the very thing that is in the best interest of their child.
Mainstream media is still busy minting new phrases to describe the divorce: “They are breaking up as friends,” says one. “Happily divorcing,” says another.
Yet, breaking up isn’t what friends do and people break up because they aren’t happy. If marriage creates a single heart, divorce rips it to a million pieces, and when a heart is ripped it often dies.
So Why Marry?
Why do people who have lived almost the entire length a relationship cohabiting marry? What were they missing even when they seem to have it all?
Adele and Simon already had a child, and business was going so well, her three studio album “19’ (2008), “21” (2011), “25” (2015) were each a huge hit worldwide with sales topping over a 100 million records. So why did she get married, and secretly for that matter?
Marriage is the public pledge between a man and a woman to join their common destiny for life, and for the sake of children. Christian marriage is even more profound, the couple decides to give themselves wholly and entirely to each other in marital love for life and in openness to life, a decision that is attractive and noble and many unmarried people desire it.
But the modern creation of “no fault divorce” has radically altered the meaning of marriage, stripping it of all vestiges of permanence, honor and respect; it is now a naked business contract–with exit clauses.
It’s high time a name; a new name is found for this new creature which is startlingly different from the old; a name that reflects the new reality; like a larva is distinct from a butterfly and has a different name, even while sharing a common origin, this new modern business contract often referred to as marriage should be distinguished from true marriage by a new name.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere says Martin Luther King Jr, and Kim Kardashian, reality TV star and glamour girl, seems to have taken it to heart. She announced recently that she is studying to become a lawyer to better help prisoners. She told Vogue magazine that her decision was inspired by her recent success in persuading President Trump to commute the life sentence handed out to a 63 yr old woman in Tennessee for a first drug offense.
She has also helped to win clemency for another woman was convicted as a teenager of murdering a man who paid to have sex with her.
“I just felt like I wanted to be able to fight for people who have paid their dues to society. I just felt like the system could be so different, and I wanted to fight to fix it, and if I knew more, I could do more,” she said.
Kardashian, dropped out of school, started the reality TV show with her sisters, called “Keeping up with the Kardashians,” and developed a line of fashion and beauty products worth millions of dollars. Now she wants to go back and for good reasons too.
Gold is buried deep in slug, and a prostitute washed Jesus’ feet.
Kim Kardashian is hardly a saint. Yet, no matter what you think of her, her sex tapes, her nudes pictures that often break the internet and jar the senses, whether you love her or hate her, this good she is doing stands tall, and that’s the truth.
Even though her heart hungers for fame and fortune as wildly as a starving lion hungers for game, yet, having eaten to her heart’s content, she has left some affection for the incarcerated poor of America. They now have a voice and an advocate willing to undertake an inconvenient adult education to serve them better.
Let us hope that many super rich will toe her line and look beyond themselves at others who have nothing and sometime less than nothing.
The world isn’t black or white, but different shades of gray
We may not endorse everything in the world, but we must endorse every good in the world. In a world where an average person hears a million bad news daily, and believes he will go deaf if he hears anymore, any good news is as refreshing as clear cold water to a thirsty deer.
Yes, she sometime represents the worst of our time; other times, the best of our times. A diamond in the rough, her actions sometimes reflects foolishness; at other times reflects light and wisdom from distant stars.
Her love for prisoners must come as a refreshing call to action for her fellow rich and famous, to extend their helping hands to the less miserables of their time,
Perhap, her Catholic high school background has a hand in it, for care for prisoners is indeed a work of mercy cherished by the Church
Prison reform, is so noble, so worthy, and is needed everywhere. In Nigeria, many in prison are held without charge for many years, thanks to the reckless actions of the police, who are quick to arrest on mere suspicion and quick imprison without relevant paper work.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to injustice everywhere and it is up to everyone to fight it. Anyone who barricades himself in the citadel of his own selfishness will never come down onto this battlefield.
As is expected, at 38, she isn’t finding study easy.
“The reading is what really gets me. It’s so time-consuming,” she said.
But then, she has her late father’s spirit, Robert Kardashian, a great lawyer who helped OJ Simpson in1995 to win acquittal for double murder. She is sure to ace her bar exam come 2023 when she will sit for it.
Best of luck.
No doubt, the time she devotes to this worthy cause may set her back a few bucks, but she is financially secure, and wouldn’t miss the bucks. But she will miss the train ride to redemption at the twilight of her life if she misses this great opportunity to give her life to something higher than her ego or her fame.
Forgive and forget is an old saying but not in Rwanda as it marks 25 years after the genocide that killed close to a million people. The people are convinced that peace will continue only if they never forget.
“We are family once again, but never again will this happen”, said Paul Kagame, the Rwandan president on April 7 during the lighting of the commemoration lamp that will burn the whole of 100 days, the time it took to end the genocide that began on April 7, 1994.
On 6 April 1994, a plane carrying then-President Juvenal Habyarimana – a Hutu – was shot down, killing all on board. The government blamed the Rwanda Patriotic Front (RPF), a Tutsi led guerrilla fighters in the north. The next day a well-organized campaign of slaughter began. Youth militias (Interahamwes) were given hit lists of Tutsi victims. Many were killed with machetes in acts of appalling brutality. They set up road blocks to find Tutsis, incited hatred via radio broadcasts and carried out house to house searches. The killing lasted a 100 days ending when the RPF, led by Kagame and backed by Uganda, marched on Kigali. Some two million Hutus fled, mainly to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Unlike the sowers of hatred who orchestrated the genocide and ethnic division, Kagame has fostered unity and common brotherhood of all Rwanda.
Today, the country has recovered economically, with President Kagame’s policies encouraging rapid growth and technological advancement. Growth remains good – 7.2% in 2018 according to the African Development Bank.
“The arms of our people, intertwined, constitute the pillars of our nation,” Kagame said. “We hold each other up. Our bodies and minds bear amputations and scars, but none of us is alone. He added: “The fighting spirit is alive in us. What happened here will never happen again
From the constant bloodletting of Boko Harm in Northern Nigeria to the threats of vicious Somali gunmen in Kenya. African sees a lot of blood and horror. The African leaders present at the ceremony are hopefully here to learn how to stop the constant bloodshed, hatred and injustice in their own countries by building bridges that create spirit of brotherhood like Kagame has done in Rwanda.
True peace comes from Forgiveness
The 1994 genocide destroyed the illusion that African fault line wars are triggered by lack of religious homogeneity. With an estimated population 5.6 million, 80 percent of Rwandans are Christians, mainly Catholics, yet they ditched the truths of the Catholic faith taught to them as children to heed the screech of murder and rape.
Immaculée Ilibagiza, a woman who survived the genocide hiding in a pastors toilet for 90 days with seven other women but lost her entire family with the exception of one brother who was outside the country, in her New York Times best-selling Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust, she talked about her struggles with hatred and desire revenge against those trying to kill her, and her initial inability to forgive. Then one day like one who had since been looking at a tapestry from behind seeing only a meaningless jumble of treads, she was finally given through prayers to see it upfront, and marvel at its beauty . She tells the story like this:
One night we heard screaming not far from the house and then a baby crying. The killers must have slain the mother and left her infant to die in the road. The child wailed all night; by morning, its cries were feeble and sporadic, and by nightfall, it was silent. I heard dogs snarling nearby and shivered as I thought about how that baby’s life had ended. I prayed for God to receive the child’s innocent soul, and then asked Him, How can I forgive people who would do such a thing to an infant?
I heard God’s answer as clearly as if we had been sitting in the same room chatting: You are all my children . . . and the baby is with Me now.
In God’s eyes, the killers were part of His family, deserving of love and forgiveness. I knew that I couldn’t ask God to love me if I were unwilling to love His children. At that moment, I prayed for the killers, for their sins to be forgiven and for the first time since I entered the bathroom, I slept in peace.
Immaculee in toilet where she lived for 90 days with 7 other women when she returned to Rwanda after the war
True, bad indoctrination can contribute to evil actions, but every evil act is still an individual act. Those who choose evil exercise personal freedom and thus are responsible for their acts. It is heartening to note that many Hutus chose to die rather than kill. They were true Hutus because they chose freedom rather than slavery of evil and their action are an indictment of those who took up the machetes to kill.
One can be trapped in the most horrendous and inhuman prison and yet be free, by accepting God’s will and by loving sacrifice, thinking of all the souls on earth Immaculée found her deepest relationship with God, learning to love all mankind, especially to pray and forgive her enemies.
She reached the peak of forgiveness when she decided to visit Felicien, the man who killed her mother, and personally forgive him. After she had told him so, she asked him: How can you have done this? Killing so many people, you can’t be at peace. In rags, he seemed small and confused. ”I wanted to reach out to him,” she said. I cried, and then he himself started to cry.
The official in charge of the jail, a Tutsi who was a survivor like Immaculée who was initially angry at her for forgiving the man latter came to her and said, You don’t know what you did to me, when you went to the jail and forgave Felicien. I was shocked but I learnt the necessity for forgiveness.”
Just like a tennis ball striking a soft pillow decelerates and loses its power to rebound, violence stops when it hits a forgiving heart. This is a lesson that Rwandans and millions of African victims of violence should take to heart and never forget.
Photo journalist, TY Bellow, who discovered the bread seller model also discovered an unsung hero, Ms Ekundayo, a woman who had single handedly cared for near 500 orphaned children without any public or private applause.
An economist graduate, who had a brief stint in Government, Bello is a passionate Christian who has an amazing eye out for underdogs. Transforming the life of an illiterate bread seller caught in her camera by accident to a supermodel. But she wasn’t done yet.
In 2003, on a whim of philanthropic spirit, she decided to go visiting orphanages round the country to see which was in dire straight and how she could help, to her great surprise, she discovered an unknown and unsung heroine, who had quietly fed and sheltered close to 500 children in the backwaters of Kogi state.
In 1959, Mama Ekundayo, a married woman with five biological children of her own, decided to take care of orphans and abandoned children as well. Without money or power, she set about her goal and by 2003, she had taken care of well nearly 500 children without any government or international aid.
Mama Ekundayo
“Ekundayo,” which translates, “(my) tears have turned to joy,” captured Bello’s sentiments the days she met this woman.
“After talking to her about 10 minutes, I just started to cry,” TY Bello said.
“I felt so empty, you know there is something about her that is very peaceful, very wholesome. You can tell that she was happy but I felt that my whole life was just about me and my project and the things that I wanted.”
Greatly edified by sheer munificence of the woman and the gloriousness of this hidden sacrifice and the contrast of her own life Bello wrote a song for her which she turned to a music video called “Ekundayo.”
Just like many things in life, there are many unsung heroes, people who do good quietly while the world largely remains unaware. Men and women who spend their lives serving others selflessly, at the cost fortune and family. They are so noble, inspiring and out of the ordinary.
It is like catching a glimpse of that image of God we bear in our souls, so obscure and difficult to see in a world marked by unchecked greed and selfish ambition for power, lust and personal gratification.
Using one’s talents or money to serve the greatest number of people is obviously more rewarding and effective, yet it is strangely not common in Africa, and in Nigeria especially. The truth is that it requires degree of spiritual awareness rare and hard to acquire, and even more, it requires willpower and self mastery over the animal instincts of self preservation that only very few can achieve in society rife with insecurity and poverty.
Yet, the Ekundayos of this world aren’t superhuman. They are people with deep convictions who choose to live out the consequences no matter the odds.
TY Bello with Mama Ekundayo
But they are the truly free. Those who understand freedom as the radically arbitrary license to do just what they want and to have their own way are living in a lie, for by his very nature man is part of a shared existence and his freedom is shared freedom. His very nature contains direction and norm, and becoming inwardly one with this direction and norm is what freedom is all about.
It is this radical shift in thoughts and philosophy that distinguish Ms Ekundayo from many. Yet, all Nigerians retain the capacity to walk the footstep of this giant.
Admittedly this is no easy task from start to finish in Nigeria. From scarcity of adoption agency to fraudulent agencies that run orphanages with a mind of achieving a clandestine agenda, to lack of proper documentation, to legal challenges to bureaucratic bottle necks ensure that only the truly convinced can walk this course on scathe.
“Mama Ekundayo has shown us how you can do so much with so little. There are countless examples of people like her out there,” said Bello, “I hope the videos inspire us to help make their work easier or at least spread the word as much as we can.”
EKUNDAYO – TY BELLO (video)
LYRICS: EKUNDAYO – TY BELLO
Ekundayo sugbon E mi ko
Ise Oluwa ni
Her words resound over and again
Undoubtedly I’ve been changed
Madam your life your heart touched mine
And finally I realized
Even I can give a life
Ekundayo sugbon emi ko oluwa lo fun mi se
Mo dele ever before open my door
Jojolo
Life was all about me
My life was all about me
Did not see nothing wrong
The life that I lived
Was far from her reality
Don’t know how empty I was
Madam your life your heart touched mine
I was struck by the purity of your smile
Now I know
Realize the change I can bring (Change I can be)
To suffering children who’ve got no home
Pray for me so I can see
Through your eyes
Repeat Do you know beautiful you become
When you make way
For the all little ones
Who otherwise would not have made it through their day
This year’s Grammy best rap winner, singer and songwriter, Cardi B may soon be in deep waters. A video in which she claimed that she used to drug and rob men to survive, has surfaced.
Many are clamoring for her to be held accountable, especially in the wake of the women take down of many men by the famous #MeToo movement
Accused of sexual assault that happened years ago, super celebrity like Bill Cosby is doing time and R.Kelly’s fate hangs on the edge. Why should we forgive Cardi B?
“Is there any chance at all that a man could admit to drugging and robbing women and still keep his career?” Some ask.
While critics are calling for her head, as the only fair way to deal with the revelation, her fans argue that she committed the crime out of desperation, unlike other celebrities who allegedly committed their crimes at the height of fame and fortune abusing their privileges
She admits she isn’t proud of that ‘dirty past’ and no longer tows that path.
And a dirty past it is. She became a gang member at 16 and a stripper at 19 when she was fired from the supermarket where she was working, and yet she is Catholic and claims a “strong relationship” with God in interviews, often saying that she directly communicates with God.
But as the saying goes, “Behind very dark clouds, there is sometimes a silver lining”, in age where celebrities daily celebrate their disdain for marriage and having babies, Cardi B surprised everyone by doing both.
She secretly married her friend and confidant, Offset, in their bedroom in September 2017 and when the rumors broke, she confirmed it on social media.
They have a daughter and have been together for 3 yrs a now are rare feat in music industry today. Her husband even accompanied her to the stage to receive her Grammy.
Cardi B with her Husband, Offset and their daughter
“All I can do now is be a better me for myself my family and my future,” the mother of one said on Instagram.
While it is true that it is never right to do evil so that good may come and her rise to the top will never justify her criminal actions and that she may probably go to jail for soon, yet, her dirty past can be forgiven, wiped clean by God, through the sacrament of confession if she is truly contrite and has sincerely repented of her past life.
Confession is one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church, in which the faithful obtain absolution for the sins committed against God and neighbour and are reconciled with the community of the Church. By this sacrament Catholics believe they are freed from sins committed after baptism. The sacrament of Penance is considered the normal way to be absolved from mortal sin, by which one would otherwise possibly condemn oneself to Hell ( click here for a complete guide to confession)
No matter how black our sins are God always forgives
“I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; I desire that the wicked turn back from his way and live.” Says Holy Scriptures, and as Pope Francis said, “There are people who are afraid to go to confession, forgetting that they will not encounter a severe judge there, but the immensely merciful Father.”
In human tribunal we can only expect justice, in Divine tribunal we only expect mercy
“In itself, mercy is the greatest of the virtues, since all the others revolve around it and, more than this, it makes up for their deficiencies…..it is proper to God to have mercy, through which his omnipotence is manifested to the greatest degree”. (Apostolic exhortation, Gauduim et spes)
The problem is that there is a great loss of sense of sin today, a loss which originated in Hollywood in the 60’s and have spread everywhere via movies and many today do not feel they need forgiveness.
Yet sin multiplies daily in the world and we all need forgiveness
Catholics distinguish between two types of sin. Mortal sins are a “grave violation of God’s law” that “turns man away from God”. Acts like murder and robbery are good examples, but still are specks in a wide spectrum of sin men are capable of.
Someone who is aware of having committed mortal sins must repent of having done so and then confess them in order to benefit from the sacrament. Venial sins, the kind that “does not set us in direct opposition to the will and friendship of God”, can be remitted by contrition and reception of other sacraments but they too, “constituting a moral disorder and are rightly and usefully declared in confession”.
Yet, for my money, there is more to contrition and confession than just the act. When you rob someone of his money, you need to give it back. The Catholic Church teaches that the penitents practice restitution, returning of stolen goods and prayerful reparations to those whom our sins have wounded.
Cardi B needs to examine her conscience and ask God for a soul sensitive to sin because without interior repentance, confession is useless. She needs to make attempts to repair her past misdeeds.
One area she could work on is her music dance videos. While some are brilliant, most cuts too close to sexual immorality and sexually suggestive moves could lead her millions of teeming fans to temptation and sin from which she cannot be exonerated.
Again, her use of four letter words, wide currency in modern music, is scandalously out of control, and contributes to the corruption of her young fans. “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung round his neck and he were thrown into the sea,” says sacred scripture.
Unfortunately, her spiking fame and fortune will make her battle to come clean tougher, for it’s harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God, than for a camel to pass through the eyes of the needle. Yet all things are possible with God.
Flaunting female journalist gets forcibly kissed by a shirtless boxer. Both need virtue therapy.
Bulgarian heavyweight boxer abruptly grabbed a female reporter Jennifer Ravalo on live television, and kissed her on the lips. Jennifer who works for the Vegas Sport Daily was interviewing the still bleeding and shirtless boxer Kubrat Pulev, Pulev had just knocked out Bogdan Dinu in a Las Vegas fight, his 27th victory in 28 professional fights, according to gaurdian.uk
She was all smiles, leaning in way too close, cleavage clearly visible, as she smiled to the camera and right in his face. His drawled responses was getting more and more distracted, and he lost self control, abruptly grabbed and forcibly kissed her on the lips and walked away.
“Thanks you, Jesus Christ!” Jennifer exclaimed, embarrassed. This seemly abrupt and strange action may not be entirely inexplicable. A boxer brimming with adrenaline, in close proximity with a sweet female with some flesh in display may just grab her. It is called original sin, a sin as old as mankind; it led to the fall of the first man and woman according to Christian scriptures, and occasioned the banishment of man’s first ancestors from paradise.
It’s clear that simply being a good person requires some kind of self restraint. If a man gives in to his anger he’ll be impossible to live with, and may even end up a murderer. Furthermore, if a person doesn’t know how to deny his excessive desire for alcohol, he’ll become drunkard, a child who does not curtail his desire to watch television or play computer games will fall behind in his school work, a boxer who does not want to control his desires will grab female reporters on live television and kiss them on the lips.
Virtues are what we use to control ourselves.
What are the virtues? Virtues are habits that help us act according to right reason, to move us towards what is truly good. Virtue come from the Latin, vir: Life .Virtue is a state of character and excellence that make a person do good. They are realized and grown by constant practice. There are four virtues, called cardinal, on which hinge the whole moral life. They are: Prudence, temperance, justice and fortitude. Each of these four virtues has bullet points.
The Catholic Church describes these four cardinal virtues as “human” (in contrast to the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love, which are of divine origin). The cardinal virtues are habits that, when practiced and cultivated, allow us the ability to make right choices.
Prudence
Prudence is the virtue that disposes practical reason to discern our true good in every circumstance and to choose the right means of achieving it; “the prudent man looks where he is going.”… It guides the other virtues by setting rule and measure. It is prudence that immediately guides the judgment of conscience. If boxer Pulev practiced prudence, he would know that forcibly kissing a woman could land him in big trouble and possible lawsuits in this age of #MeToo. Again, one of the bullet points under the virtues of temperance is modesty. Perhaps, if Jennifer kept a modest distance from the boxer and showed less cleavage, she would have helped him maintain control. This is not to say that she is responsible for what happened.
Justice
Justice is the moral virtue that consists in the constant and firm will to give their due to God and neighbor … Justice toward men disposes one to respect the rights of each and to establish in human relationships the harmony that promotes equity with regard to persons and to the common good.
Fortitude
Fortitude is the moral virtue that ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. It strengthens the resolve to resist temptations and to overcome obstacles in the moral life. The virtue of fortitude enables one to conquer fear, even fear of death, and to face trials and persecutions. Pulev might have resisted the Jennifer’s alluring lips, perhaps looking away, this resolved could be strengthened by thinking about his wife and children, not wanting to embarrass them.
Temperance
Temperance is the moral virtue that moderates the attraction of pleasures and provides balance in the use of created goods. It ensures the will’s mastery over instincts and keeps desires within the limits of what is honorable … In the New Testament it is called “moderation” or “sobriety.” We ought “to live sober, upright, and godly lives in this world.”
It’s clear that these qualities are essential for everyone, today as they were yesterday, if not more…and for celebrities, much more.
Jumoke the bread seller whose ordinary work turned her into a model has uncovered how extraordinary and attractive an ordinary work done well, with love and a smile can lead to success.
In 2016, 27 yr old bread seller, Olajumoke Orisaguna—Jumoke, a mother of two was pounding the streets, carrying her wares on her head, eking a living to save her family from starvation. Unawares, she walked into a street photo shoot and was caught in the background. While editing the pictures later, the female photo-journalist was so smitten by her photogenic beauty and determined to find her, she posted the picture on Instagram and successfully tracked her down and offered her a job as a model, thus making an inspiring rags-to-riches story that held Nigerians spellbound for years. Fans couldn’t get enough of her, and hope spread among desolate millions in the streets that one day their luck will change.
The Picture of Jumoke at the background made her famous
Her parents were too poor to send her to a formal school, Jumoke had trained as a hairdresser because and in 2010, met and married a craftsman. But their combined income wasn’t adequate to feed their two children. To haul the family out of appalling straits, she moved from Osun to Lagos with one of her daughters, to work in a bakery. It was hard and difficult work, on foot each day with a tray laden with bread loaves on her head. Yet, come rain or shine, she kept a smile on her face. That afternoon walking past people taking pictures, unconcerned, she smiled and hurried on, calling for customers; little did she know that Lady Luck saw her.
She had since become a runaway success, yet she remains inwardly unaffected by it, humble and straight-talking her reality TV shows are filled with great street wisdom, and is the darling of you-tubers.
In one of the episodes, she spoke with her usual unadorned candidness, about the shocking things she had seen on social media, things as a man getting married to a man and a woman marrying another woman.
With the candidness of a child, she expressed it as utterly “unNigerian” and unthinkable.
She was simply expressing her opinion, and besides she isn’t a lettered woman, and as Peter Kreeft, philosophy professor of Boston College said, “There are certain falsehoods that you need a PhD to believe.”
Yet, the floodgates of hate and cyber bullying were immediately flung wide open and attacks on her person and family began. Orchestrated and led by a Ghanaian self-proclaimed transsexual who continues to smear her, intent on ruining her, and getting her blacklisted by modeling companies.
Not satisfied with hounding her job, they have turned on her husband and marriage, spreading vicious rumors that she was sleeping with other men and disrespecting her husband.
Yet, come hell or high water, Jumoke is refusing to succumb to threats and continues sharing her hard-gotten pearls of wisdom with Nigerian youths who adore her. And she is not all talk, often swinging into action when she comes across women in grim straits. She recently convinced her promoters to intervene and build a house for an aged woman she saw being evicted from her home.
Jumoke
Yet, young people best remember that Jumoke’s success wasn’t entirely of her own making. “Lady Success” lent her a hand whilst she was busy with her ordinary work selling bread, for the love of her husband and children.
How true what someone said, that success, true success is really carrying out the duties of every day and the little things of each day well, with a smile if possible and always elegant. For it is along ordinary paths of life that we meet our destiny.
Still, her success is an unlikely story for millions of indigent youths. A rare combination of luck and the goodness of a relentless photojournalist made her what she is today, and many Nigerians may never have such luck. They should not be disheartened however, but rather continue doing their ordinary work well, throwing in a smile along, even if their work should suffer the privation of remaining unclaimed till death.
They should remember that just as a man submits to the cruel torture of a surgical operation in order to save his life; it is quite possible ordinary life’s cruel sufferings might save the life of their souls if accepted with love and a smile. “Pain or suffering of any kind for that matter can be bearable when accepted as a form of purification,” some spiritual writers say.
And anyone who examines himself honestly will find much to purify: sins, omissions in love, disorderly inclinations which must be paid either in this life or in the next. Suffering is necessarily part of this life, and those who wish to go straight to heaven, after a life spent wholly in God’s service must not shrink from it
And St Paul exhorts in the scriptures, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us when we contemplate God face to face.” And St. Josemaria Escriva adds,“ Understand this well: there is something holy, something divine, hidden in the most ordinary situations, and it is up to each one of you to discover it.”
In fact, Escriva, with Gospel in hand, constantly taught that God does not want us simply to be good . . . , he wants us to be saints, through and through. However, he wants us to attain that sanctity, not by doing extraordinary things, but rather through ordinary, common activities. It is the way they are done which must be uncommon. There, in the middle of the street, in the office, in the factory, we can be . . . holy, provided we do our job.” Young people might not all become famous like Jumoke, but their work no matter how ordinary, done with love, and extraordinarily well, is attractive and is a sure path to happiness.
People
the world over flee illness and suffering and despise death as an evil
that must be avoided at all cost. They feel themselves most unfortunate, even
unlucky if ever one or the other should overcome them. Yet, there was a
young girl who did not despise and fly from suffering and pain, but even looked
death in the eye with a smile, accepting and embracing it as a gentle caress
full of affection from a God who loved her so much.
Who
was this girl and how did she come to have such uncommon attitude in
the face of pain, suffering, even death. What gave her mind to understand that
acceptance rather than hatred and rejection are the most effective antibiotics
against infecting the soul with bitterness. What were the outcome of these her
radical ideas?
Her
name was Maria Montse Grases, a young Spaniard who lived in Barcelona. She was
only 17 in 1957 when she was diagnosed with a rare and painful bone cancer
called Ewing’s sarcoma. In the 50’s Ewing’s sarcoma was a death sentence.
Maria Montse Grases
Montse loved life and had an infectious smile
straight from the heart. Her eyes shown like diamonds, tall and strong, it seems there was almost always a perpetual smile on her
face, a smile that came straight from the heart. Her eyes were kind, friendly
and filled with playful mischief. She was neat and tidy and her clothes reflected style and taste. She especially liked
a green plaid skirt that reached her ankles
She liked sport and music as well as
traditional local dances. She was a good athlete, playing basketball, tennis,
and ping-pong. But her favorite recreation was outings with friends.
In many sense she
was like any other girl; yet, she was unlike many other girls because she
radiated an inner charm and her virtues and character made her attractive to
all who met her.
She
almost never worried about herself but busied herself taking care of others,
she showered love and attention on the needy and suffering; and took her
friends to visit poor families and sick people, and she regularly gave
religions classes to the local children in parishes, and would sometimes bring
them toys and sweets.
She took great care of her spiritual life of
prayers because she loved God with a personal love that was both intimate and
filled with reverence. To her, God was a friend with whom she could share
everything, the deepest secrets of her soul, she laid bare to him
daily in prayer and anything that worried her.
Like
every young woman, she had her personal shortcomings. Impulsive and brusque at times, she however
never compromised with her personal defects, wrestling resolutely against them
and struggling to control her occasional ill temper, and be friendly and jovial
with everyone.
This
greatness of heart shone like a brilliant star when she demonstrated a rare
capacity to dedicate herself to something greater than herself.
When
she was 11, her parents came in contact with Opus Dei an
institution in the Catholic Church that shows ordinary people how to be holy in
the ordinary circumstances of each day. They readily understood the message of
Opus Dei and within two years both had joined Opus Dei.
Montse’s parents thought her how to deal with Jesus with confidence,
they strove to make her stable companion of Jesus sparing no effort to make it
happen. It was her mother who first suggested she visited a center of
Opus Dei, where Christian and human formation is give to young girls. In attending the means of formation given in
the center of Opus Dei, she perceived one day God was calling her to serve him
as a celibate member of Opus Dei. She was sixteen
After
meditating, praying, and seeking advice, she asked to be admitted to Opus Dei.
From then on she struggled decisively and with constancy to seek holiness in
her daily life. She struggled to be in constant conversation with God, to
discover the will of God in the fulfillment of her duties and in caring for
little details out of love, and to make life pleasant for those around her. She
was able to transmit to many of her relatives and friends the peace that comes
from living close to God.
Her
brother George soon took notice that Montse had changed. Though externally, she
was the same, same dress, she still attended classes on cooking and arts, but
her brothers noticed that she was no longer arguing with him, and was more
affectionate and tactful. She seemed to have suddenly grown up.
What
made her so readily generous with God?
Some people attribute it to her parent’s generosity with God in having a
large family. Montse was the second of nine children.
“Me
and my wife agreed in everything, ready to start a Christian family, accepting
all children God wanted to send.” Her father said.
Ewing’s sarcoma
One
day on June 1958, Montse went skiing with friends and injured her leg. The pain
was excruciating and won’t go away; her parents took her to a clinic. After lengthy
investigations, the doctor took her parent aside, and told them she had a rare
kind of bone cancer, causing the great pain she had been experiencing. But
worse, it was incurable. She was going to die.
Devastated,
her parents wept inconsolably, unable to speak or break the news to her.
Finally,
they told her.
“Would
it help if they cut the bad leg?” she asked.
“I
am afraid my daughter, that will not help.” her sad father said.
To
her parents surprise she brightened up and began singing a Mexican song and
that night, as her mother recalled slept soundly.
Little
by little, her illness got worse though, and she spent many a sleepless night squirming
in pain; the treatment made her suffer a lot. Her pain increased to the point
of being almost unbearable. From February 16th on, her leg was so swollen up to
the hip that her skin began to crack.
Treating
the leg was terribly painful. But instead of complaining, she hummed a song.
She always had an affectionate word for those who treated her leg, even though
they couldn’t help hurting her.
She
couldn’t eat. To take anything was a real torture. Since she couldn’t swallow
anything, she sucked on a piece of ice for refreshment. She usually commented
that she was a coward because she was afraid the suffering would come.
Jesus was afraid to die?
At
first, she naturally was afraid to die. One day she said to a friend: “I’m afraid
of dying, because I’m afraid to be alone.”
Her
friend tried to encourage her by mentioning the scene of Jesus in Gethsemane
was afraid to die.
“Jesus
was afraid to die?” She exclaimed, astonished that she hadn’t thought
about that before. Joy flooded into her heart.
“What
joy to find myself afraid together with Jesus,” Montse exclaimed ecstatically
clasping her hands, her face radiant with peace and joy.
“Together with Jesus I will face death
happily!”
The
end drew to a close rapidly however. At
the beginning of March they had to call the doctor quickly because. Montse had
such a weak pulse that it was hardly noticeable.
The
doctor, when he took her pulse couldn’t hide his concern that was noticed by
all. Montse broke the anguished silence by picking up the doctor’s bag from the
bed and saying: “Mama, have you seen this strange bag?”
This
made everyone smile.
She
grew much worse. They thought the moment had arrived to give her the Blessing
of the Sick. She also thought it would be good to have it as soon as possible.
A priest of Opus Dei administered this sacrament. Montse followed the ritual
with great devotion, showing no sadness. Every once in a while she smiled at
her mother who knelt at the foot of the bed.
On
March 18, eve of the feast of St. Joseph, it seemed that the hour of her death
had arrived. Montse was very happy.
“How
do I look,” she asked those who were staying with her.
“All right,” someone answered. Montse wanted
them to say, “Worse.” And when asked, “How do you feel?” she answered
unenthusiastically, “Me? Fine; just look.” The clock struck eleven, and she
asked, “What time is it? Am I still here?”
At
twelve she was asked, “Montse, do you want to pray?”
They said the Angelus. At that moment she was
more awake, and she said: “Do you know what I think? I’m not going to worry any
more. When God wants, he’ll take me.”
Soon to Heaven
St.
Joseph’s day passed, and her general condition improved somewhat. The doctor
came to see her and Montse asked later: “What did he say? What’s happening?
Aren’t I going?”
“He
said you might go at any moment,” they answered.
“Can you imagine? Soon to Heaven, soon to
Heaven! Will you let me go?” she exclaimed happily, hugging the person who had
told her the doctor’s comment.
Little
by little she weakened. The nights were the worst. A continuous sweat left her
exhausted. She became very thirsty and felt suffocated. The night before her
death, Montse wanted to say something. But in spite of the effort she made no
one could understand her. Early in the morning of that Holy Thursday, March 26,
1959, the directress of the Opus Dei house that she attended was close to her
bed, and Montse asked her to say aspirations since she herself couldn’t talk
anymore. About ten o’clock she tried to sit up to see the picture of the Blessed
Virgin Mary that she had in front of her bed.
She
whispered: “How much I love you. When are you coming to take me?” These were
her last words. Her life ebbed away little by little.
At
noon, those who were with her prayed the Angelus. She must have followed it
with her heart. It was her last glance toward the One she loved so much, and to
whom she had said so many things during her lifetime. Those who were with her
began to say the Rosary in a soft voice, and they had just finished the first mystery
when Montse died
Montserrat
Graces, an 18 year old girl when she died on March 25, 1959 and was
recently declared
venerable by Pope Francis. She is a model for all women on women’s day.
Marvel superhero actress, Evangeline Lilly revealed that she is still distressed over doing partially nude scenes on a hit TV show called “Lost” that ran from the mid-to-late 2000s
Lily’s admission is coming on the heel of the explosive sex scandals rocking Hollywood. This is yet another proof that harassment is a multifaceted vice that isn’t just limited to acts of soliciting for sex from vulnerable actresses, by rich and powerful movie producers, on whose hands, their fate and careers rest. Pressing an actress to undress on screen is in itself a pernicious form of sexual harassment.
According to Lilly, she felt pressured to doing those nude scenes as a young 20-something actress. She went on to exclaim that she will never do nude scenes again now that she has more control over her career.
She hated those scripts which was casting her character, Kate, as a sex object. Kate went from being a strong woman with her own story to just chasing men around the island.
“I did throw scripts across room when Id read them,” she added. “Theres nothing wrong with womens lives being characterized by their relationships. But there was this eventual lack of dimension to what was going on with her.”
The ever growing number of Hollywood movies laced with nudity and licentiousness do in fact harm the women and men who are forced to act these scenes.
Often young and insecure, they easily succumb to subtle or not so subtle threats of contract terminations and censures hovering like the executioner’s axe over their necks. Not many have the mettle to say no, fewer still, have the courage speak up like Lilly did, even after many years have passed.
Again, it’s not uncommon for people who do nude scenes to be scorned by family and friends who may feel embarrassed and humiliated, leaving a string of strained relationship with spouse and children. In poor countries like Africa, criminals are often paraded nude on the streets to the shame of their families. Rich countries like Europe and America should hold themselves to a higher standard— even if it’s only a movie. Sadly, this is far from being the case; there is rather a mindless nudity everywhere. Online click-baiting nudes pervade the Internet. Drool baiting nakedness on primetime television, glossy magazines and billboards are wide currency. Thanks to Lillys story, we know a little more about the hidden costs of these lascivious indulgences: wrecked lives and regrets.
Why should we be surprised that Lilly is hurt when forced to go naked for the public. Even for a large sum of money, how many people would throw their bathroom doors open to crowds of onlookers while taking their showers. Yet sex scenes are regular staple in movies.
Nude scenes do harm to the viewers as well, especially the young. Studies show that teen and young adults who spend more time watching movies (80% of Hollywood movies have nude scenes) do less well than their peers in school.
According to brietbiet.com, the director who forced Lily to undress has apologized, but this hardly goes far enough. Hollywood should take responsibility for what has been going on for far too long.
They should thank Lilly for bringing it to light, take a cue and learn the scripts: nude scenes can and do violate people’s dignity! They should stop making box office earnings their only consideration and encourage people to opt out of nudes without retributions.
Government and regulatory institutions shouldn’t be silent either. They should see to it that that these people do the right thing and initiate changes or pay punitive fines and have their licenses revoked–a good deterrent for those wish to act like pimps and sex traffickers
Perhaps next time you come across a nude scene on your screen, you would look behind the scene to see the tears and anguish.
Authors-choice: Hope & Revival 