Good, better, best...

Gangnam Style

I was walking along the streets downtown with some friends last night, and we heard it, not in one building, not in two buildings, but in three, blaring out into the night.  Gangnam Style has become a global phenomenon, and I can almost hear my Korean counterparts saying, "It's about time!  Finally the world is realizing how great Korea is."  But, just like in America, these people seem to be listening only to the beat and chuckling at the appearances of famous comedians in the video.  I have not heard one Korean comment on the controversial message the song sends.  The whole song is a commentary on what the singer wants in a woman and why he deserves it, the resounding theme is "I want a sexy woman, and I deserve it because I'm "Gangnam Style'."  Gangnam is a section of Seoul known for it's ritzy style of living.  "Gangnam Style" is applied to, obviously, a person who lives like they're from Gangnam.  But don't take my word for it; check the lyrics yourself:

English Translation:

Oppa [older brother/boyfriend] is Gangnam style

Gangnam style

A girl who is warm and humanle during the day

A classy girl who know how to enjoy the freedom of a cup of coffee

A girl whose heart gets hotter when night comes

A girl with that kind of twist

I’m a guy

A guy who is as warm as you during the day

A guy who one-shots his coffee before it even cools down

A guy whose heart bursts when night comes

That kind of guy

Beautiful, loveable

Yes you, hey, yes you, hey

Beautiful, loveable

Yes you, hey, yes you, hey

Now let’s go until the end

Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style

Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style

Oppa is Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh

A girl who looks quiet but plays when she plays

A girl who puts her hair down when the right time comes

A girl who covers herself but is more sexy than a girl who bares it all

A sensable girl like that

I’m a guy

A guy who seems calm but plays when he plays

A guy who goes completely crazy when the right time comes

A guy who has bulging ideas rather than muscles

That kind of guy

Beautiful, loveable

Yes you, hey, yes you, hey

Beautiful, loveable

Yes you, hey, yes you, hey

Now let’s go until the end

Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style

Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style

Oppa is Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh

On top of the running man is the flying man, baby baby

I’m a man who knows a thing or two

On top of the running man is the flying man, baby baby

I’m a man who knows a thing or two

You know what I’m saying

Oppa is Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh

So, maybe the words themselves aren't all that controversial.  Maybe it causes your heart to flutter a frustrated beat at the materialism it seems to endorse, but what's so new about that theme in pop music? Well, let me direct your attention to the video.  Psy seems to be trying his hardest to make the whole thing look ridiculous as possible - to make the whole world laugh at the concept of Gangnam style, whether through Psy's lounging beach-style on a playground, the trash flying through the air, the girls walking around in the snow with their shorties on, or the over-the-top excitement at being on the tennis court with a couple beautiful girls... and that's all in the first minute.

Are we slaves?

I want to take a moment to acknowledge that my serious thinking about this song was really spurred by the pastor of one of the three churches I'm bouncing between right now.  Pastor Josh wrote a very well thought out post on his blog about how this video seems to be a modern-day version of Ecclesiastes - the material world is meaningless.  Furthermore, he suggests that we are personally enslaving ourselves through our habits.  He doesn't mean the ball and chain kind of enslavement (although that DEFINITELY still happens today around the world, including the USA), he means the soul-sapping, Christ-deferring kind of enslavement.

We live in a world where depression is quickly becoming the number TWO debilitation of people across the globe.  We live in a world where suicide is one of the three leading causes of death in young people, aged 10-24.  We live in a world that chants the mantra at us "Good, better, best, never let it rest..."  Never let it rest?  If that's not slavery mentality, I don't know what is.

The ultimate result

This week, my friends and I have been plagued with the unthinkable.  The equivalent of an American ninth-grade student of one of my friends attempted suicide while at school by jumping out of a third story window.  He survived and underwent surgery on his leg and jaw.  What would prompt such a young person to do that?  I'll answer quite confidently: The unbearable pressure to succeed.  We just started the second semester of school, here in Korea, and our middle-schoolers are busily applying to high school.  Mid-terms are at the end of this month, and finals are right behind them.  There's no rest for them.  They go to school all day and study when they come home, and when I say "all day," I do mean "all the daylight hours."  If I thought I was going to fail under such circumstances, I honestly can't say I wouldn't do the same as him.

"But that's Korea!", you say.  What has this to do with me?  Korea is leading the world in suicide rates, but that does not make the rest of the world immune.  After all, it is America posting the Good, Better, Best poster in its classrooms (believe me, I know - I stared at them day after day, making it my own mantra).  America (and the rest of the Westernized world, for sure, I can't speak for the rest of the Eastern world) puts such an incredible value on academic and financial success, that, even if it isn't a personal value, it's weight it crippling from having it constantly cast onto people.  It's the rolling thunder of inadequacy looming directly overhead.

Avoidance

As Christians, we are called to something more than this mindset that we've had drilled into us.  We've been set apart as holy, living sacrifices.  We've been commanded to refrain from conforming to this world.  One crucial way to do this is to REST.

We cannot focus on other people, let alone G-d and His Kingdom, is we are physically and emotionally exhausted.  This has been proven time and again.  Take Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs - Our most basic human needs are the physiological ones, like food, shelter, and sleep.  It's not until we achieve those and all the other levels of the hierarchy that we can reach the final level, added by Viktor Frankl, of looking beyond ourselves to other people's needs or the existence of a higher being (although some people may argue that being given self-worth by a higher being can fall on the fifth level of the Hierarchy of Needs).

In case you don't want to read all that psycho-babble, the answer is this: We have to take care of ourselves! It's so important that G-d even commands it:

“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy." -Exodus 20:8-11

Even G-d chose to rest, to take a break from work and stress.  If it's good enough for Him, isn't it good enough for you?

There's no need for the pressure of 24/7 perfection.  You're going to get sick.  You're going to need a break.  You're going to fail.  That's life.  That's humanity.  And, you know what?  That's okay!  Take  break, worship, relax.  Don't get caught up in trying to be the best.  Take it from someone who knows - it's not worth it.

I love you, and I'm praying for you!