I recently tweeted this:
The problem with Eureka Seven Ao is that there are too many fun characters. Oh, wait…that’s not a problem.
Obviously, I’m really digging the show.
Besides the wonderful action pieces and terrific animation, it’s the characters that have me absorbed. And in particular, many of these interesting players are part of Generation Bleu.
Just as with Gekkostate in its predecessor, the pilots and leaders of Generation Bleu are rock stars in this alternate world. They are do-gooders (as far as we know at this point) who also manage to be celebrities.
Isn’t it strange that in both Eureka Seven series, people fighting to do good (even in a rebellious manner) are society’s heroes? I guess maybe it’s not so weird in the context of history, throughout much of which the scientists, religious leaders, philosophers, politicians, and other “good people” (if at least in that guise) were worshiped, sometimes literally, by the people.
Sometime in the 20th century, things shifted. Suddenly, those who gave us entertainment became the objects of our admiration.
Although a person involved in charity occasionally grabs the public eye, it’s more often the actors, sports figures, and those with salacious reputations that garner our attention.
Generation Blue? Try Generation Glue…d to our TV sets. Har har.
While this might just be a fanciful examination, I worry (and believe) it’s indicative of something more serious. What we say and what we do (and watch we watch) betrays who we are; these outward showings demonstrate what’s in our hearts.
Unfortunately, for our culture, I think it says this: we love ourselves more than we love others.
Well, perhaps this is too big of a stretch. For instance, just because one may play Grand Theft Auto, that doesn’t mean he or she will start running people over with their car (though I admit I wanted to drive like a lunatic after playing the game for the first time).
But at the very least, I think there’s a connection here. We revel in what makes us happy, not in what helps others. I think that perhaps if you examine your own motives and your day-to-day decisions, you may find that, yep, you’re selfish.
I know for me, despite all the fake piousness I may display on this blog, I’m constantly at war with my desires.
So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.
– Romans 7:21
Why should I volunteer on my Saturday when I can rest? Why should I help the lady in line behind me when I just want to get out of the grocery store as fast as possible? And, yes, why should I open that messy craft project for my kids when I can just sit back while they play with something cleaner?
Loving others is easy. Loving others when it costs you something isn’t.
But that’s the cost of love. It’s the biggest cost of all – the one that we have so much trouble letting go of:
Ourselves.
Wow. Not only do I really want to watch the new Eureka Seven (because I liked the first one), but we are talking about this very issue at DTS this week. What you said here is true. Living by the Spirit is so difficult, when your nature and flesh are fighting for control.
Like you mention in your upcoming post, there’s a war going on. And often, that war is waged within us – even though we love God and we love living the Christian life, it can be all too easy to fall into the pattern of a sinful life and in no time, to drift away from God.