Is the Nowhere Man stupid or overhwelmed?

Rev. Scott Tayler gave an interesting sermon on March 9, 2008 at the First Unitarian Church in Rochester, NY entitled, "Are You Stupid Or Just Unsure What Kind of Jeans You Want?"

Scott makes the point that people seem to be overwhelmed in this day and age with too many choices and too much information. Feeling overwhelmed leads to feelings of identity diffusion or not knowing for sure who one is, and where one belongs, and what one stands for.

I think this feeling of being overwhelmed with too many choices and too much information leaves a person feeling stressed and at loose ends and then feeling anxious and insecure. At these times people are looking for answers and fundamentalist beliefs are comforting. Experts who can give us the answers quell our fears and insecurities. Demogogues, religious, political, and secular in the form of celebrity adulation are very seductive.

The antidote I believe is knowing what it is that's important to know. A person has to have priorities and values that contribute to discernment. Not all things are equal in importance. Not all things are important to know. Do we set our own priorities and agendas or are they dictated to us by the media, our friends, and the culture we live in? The process of discernment is a personal process which we each have to take responsibility for, and yet this discernment also happens in the context of trusted others who support our honest search for the truth and important.

Scott's sermon is worth listening to. As the bumper sticker says, "Don't believe everything you think." You can listen or download Rev. Tayler's sermon at the Digg web site by clicking here.