AGENT VICTIM

Sometimes people face an inner warfare within themselves. There is always an identity of a person inside that normally acts as a patriot of the self, resisting being overcome by any foreign influence. When a new philosophy of life confronts the individual from the outside, a great struggle takes place. Some are able to defend themselves well, keeping their true identity. Others sell their humanity for money, fame, and acceptance. When one loses their distinctiveness, they replace their identity with another. They stop truly living, while someone else’s philosophy begins to live through them.

Many celebrities and popular idols promote their lifestyles through pop culture. Naively, millions of youths around the world have surrendered their will to them. We do not see them living; rather, we see those celebrities living through them. Celebrities have millions of lives under their influence. When a person is confronted by a foreign culture, a conflict begins between the old self and the new influence. Whichever force is strong enough to win the battle becomes the owner and controller of their entire being. If the external influence wins, the person is seen as being shaped by an outside force. This influence does not necessarily appear oppressive; rather, it is portrayed as “cool” and requiring no effort to adopt. But in the true judgment of life, it fails to be considered genuine.

True life is not defined by what we wear, what we eat, how we look, or where we live. It is defined by what is embedded within us. With this mindset, people who surrender their lives to external influence are often labeled as losers. The irony is that they may appear “cool” among their generation, yet they are still considered losers. There is no greater shame than being a loser while boasting as if a victor.

Those individuals who manage to resist external influence are true winners. They may be seen as unfit for pop culture, but they have taken a step toward becoming agents, with the potential to influence and transform their communities. Thus, the battle is not “to be or not to be a fan of a celebrity,” but rather to choose between being a victim or an agent within a culture that is increasingly shaping—and in many ways oppressing—the psychological world.