X/@rustyrockets
The last batch of philosophical musings, from the controversial comedian-turned-spiritual apostle, seems to have reopened debate. In a rather lengthy post, Russell Brand expounded on modern hedonism, technological domination over man, and the restoration of spirituality. His statement was something akin to a modern-day sermon, dripping with religious allegory and sharpened with pointed criticism of present-day culture.
Advertisement
Brand began by telling about storytelling: the gospels being the grand narrative. He described Jesus as ‘the greatest storyteller that ever lived,’ who used parables to share deeper truths concerning existence. This was to set bigger picture tones in which humanity itself has gotten lost by placing pleasure ahead of purpose. ‘We’ve become secondary to our pleasures,’ Brand stated, as if modern-day distractions in the form of AI, virtual reality, or websites of adult content were becoming idolatrous interventions.
His words seem to have nothing to lose in absolving self-pity: if only-to-healing pictures of humanity were expressed-‘.I could just sit, staring in narcissistic, solipsistic, onanistic wonder masturbating myself into hell,’-he cracked his joke to illustrate his point. His words were heavy, combining vivid vulgarity with exalted spiritual warnings.
Thereafter Brand issued an account of ruling spirits exhorting his listeners to ‘wage war against what we now can rightly call evil.’ The symbolic backdrop of biblical armor, with helmet, breastplate, and sword, was given as an allusion to resisting temptation in a fallen world. The clear implication being that without spiritual resistance, humanity is fast slipping into ever-deepening moral decay.
Interesting, Brand took a dispassionate view of partisan divisions: “Tribalism” he averred, “whether political or religious, will not save our society.” Instead he urged the universal recognition of sanctity in man: “Surely we must recognize our sanctity and divinity,” hinting that fulfillment does not really come through human achievement but divine grace.
While none of Brand’s newer posts had yet to attract direct responses at the time of writing, his earlier discourses tended to polarize. Some find the worth of Brand engaging on weighty issues, whereas others dismiss him as performative or just too theatrical. Yet, the recent musings tap into growing cultural unease from the divesting of human connection and spirituality through technology.
For a long while, Russell Brand straddled the realms of entertainer and provocateur: yet through this modern deep evolution another transformation seems to be taking place in the spiritual and existential discourse. Agree with him or not, his statement forces engagement with many unpleasant questions of pleasure, purpose, and how meaning is concocted in an era of endless distraction.
Advertisement
Therein lay yet another warning and a plea: beneath all of the cacophony modern life generates, the search for something greater still lingers.
No responses yet