Brothers, no matter how far we each may go in life, we can always learn something from those who have the wisdom of age and experience.

Recently, I had the pleasure of running into an old co-worker at a newspaper where we were once employed. We caught up on the usual pleasantries, talking about people we had known, and how our lives had been progressing since we parted ways.

Sadly, my friend brought up the fact that a relative still had a taste for crime. This relative got his start breaking into houses--including their home--and doing time in the various juvenile facilities around my home state. Now, the brother had ‘graduated’ to the adult system, leaving behind a wife and two children.

My friend rounded out the conversation by using a phrase that used to be common among us. That phrase: "Stuck--On Stupid". Meaning that, no matter how many times the brother was warned about the evils of crime; no matter how many times he got caught and had to face a judge; no matter how many people this brother hurt; he was still bound and determined to ‘do it his way’, no matter the consequences.

The brother was "Stuck--On Stupid".

It seems that many, many, many people in our modern, feminized society are also stuck in the same gear.

LET’S LOOK AT BUSINESS:
Take the corporate world of the airline industry for example.

If one WANTS to attract customers, you make the prices low enough so everyone can fly. If you don’t, people won’t use your services. Worse yet, they may switch to alternative means of transportation, or a cheaper transportation provider.

Will the airlines wake up and smell the coffee?

No! They run to the Feds--hat in hand--asking for a bailout.

The airline industry, for the most part, is "Stuck--On Stupid".

IT’S ‘HIS/HER’ FAULT:
Wait--there’s more.

Let’s take a stroll down relationship lane.

We see, and hear in the feminized mainstream press, what type of men women want, or what type women men need--based upon the opinions of those who not only DON’T have stable relationships of their own; they wouldn’t know one if it jumped up and bit them!

Yet, they pontificate--and the misery circulates--and the cash registers celebrate.

Relationships are a two way street. Always have been--always will be.

Sisters, please don’t spend your days feeding upon the TV Talking Heads, and the flashy media offerings, and fail to bring your TRUE self to the relationship table.

Brothers, please don’t spend your nights ‘hunting’ around the town without taking a GOOD look in the mirror as what your have to offer at the relationship table.

A lot of men and women are "Stuck--On Stupid" when it comes to relationships.

THE ENTERTAINMENT/MEDIA TRAP:
Oh, but I still have a few lines to go before I get to my main point.

Let’s take a stop at the entertainment buffet.

Each year, it seems that Hollywood and the media industry figure out bigger, and better ways to keep the cash registers going, and the tickets selling, over mediocre movies and ‘lowest common denominator’ articles and stories. This year, the hubbub is over the movie "Barbershop". Last year, there was another movie. Next year, there will be another one. And, with Christmas approaching, and a whole LOT of people out of work, you can bet there will be some ‘toy’ that the children ‘must’ have in order to have a ‘Merry Christmas’, all the while merchants will be wringing their hands to see who--if anyone--will be visiting the malls and stores to shop.

Hollywood, the mainstream press, and the merchants hope that YOU will be "Stuck--On Stupid", as you sacrifice food, shelter, or clothing in order to buy things you don’t need, to impress people who don’t give a HOOT about you. Remember: what was HOT last year, is a distant memory THIS year.

THE BOTTOM LINE:
My main point though, concerns a ‘celebration day’ that will soon be upon us.

It’s called Halloween.

Pretty soon, you’ll see the usual gang of ‘PR Sanitized’ witches, warlocks, and psychics crowding the airwaves, telling the public that there is ‘no harm’ in playing with forces buried deep in the shadows of darkness "…just to engage in harmless fun."

*Ask the Detroit Public Safety Department if ‘Devil’s Night’ is harmless fun, after watching sections of their cities burn, year after year.

*Ask the psychologists, counselors, social workers, and probation officers if having to deal with out-of-control young people who have been fed a steady diet of occult-saturated music--including Rap music--games, and such if playing with the forces of darkness is just ‘harmless fun’.

*Ask the citizens of Columbine, or a few dozen other cities where school shootings took place over the last few years if strange computer games, hour after hour of ‘metal’ music and lack of parental supervision didn’t light a fuse to a powder keg of teenage rebellion and murder.

*Ask your local police department and hospitals if searching for dangerous items ‘planted’ in candy given to children isn’t a cause for true concern.

A few years back, I seem to recall a news item where someone tried to ‘sue’ a newspaper. The suit was filed as the individual, who religiously read their daily Horoscope in their local paper and decided to ‘act on’ the advice in the column…with disastrous results. When the case made it to court, the newspaper launched a brilliant defense: “The column was for entertainment purposes only--and NOT meant to be acted upon!”

The defense worked; and the individual lost their suit.

Now we see Horoscopes all over the place.

Don’t be "Stuck--On Stupid".

As we know the dangers of adultery, drinking too much, taking God’s money to Las Vegas, playing around with pornography, and putting illegal substances in our arms, or up our nose--there IS a danger in playing around with the forces of darkness.

Think of it this way. There is a saying among gamblers. "The HOUSE always WINS!" You may get break even; you may even win a few dollars more than you had when you got to the table in the first place. But, in the end analysis, the HOUSE always turns a profit!

Brothers, at the Bottom Line, reality has a way of standing out clear as crystal.

There are some things people ought NOT to have come into their homes, their families, or their minds. And, there will be some people who represent those items that we ought NOT have around maintaining that there is NOTHING wrong with them.

Don’t let these smiling faces catch YOU “Stuck--On Stupid”.

Mike Ramey is the author of: "The Manhood Line", a monthly, syndicated column written for men from a biblical, business, and common-sense perspective. To correspond, drop email to manhoodline@yahoo.com.
The opinions expressed are those of the author and are used on BlackandChristian.com by permission.
©Mike Ramey/Barnstorm Communications, 2002