Beverly Hills Residents and their worship of the State

After hearing of the mini earthquake (3.3 on the richter scale) in Beverly Hills, California, and after hearing about the response of many of its residents, I could not help but be inspired to write a blog entry regarding this incident, as well as a commentary about the “Beverly Hills” mindset. You will see why as you continue to read.

Having been to Beverly Hills, and having spent significant time there in the past, I am well qualified to say what I am saying. And, what I am about to say is indeed critical of the people who live there. At the same time, what I am saying is designed to awaken Americans in the entire USA (and elsewhere for that matter) so that you may focus on the things that are most important in life.

First of all, Beverly Hills is “it” in the minds of many throughout the United States. Many Americans with dreams of “upward mobility” desire to live in Beverly Hills, and will stop at nothing to do what it takes to secure their piece of Beverly Hills (be it the real place or a replica of the same). For those Americans not able to afford “the real thing” (i.e. a $5 Mil to $20+ Mil – 6 to 12+ bedrooms house and multiple toys like Ferraris, Mercedes, BMWs, or a Bentleys), they will do everything they can to have nearly the same wherever they are… be it in Arkansas, Idaho, Montana, Texas, West Virginia, or elsewhere! Either way, the wants and desires of many Americans remains the same whether they are rich, middle class, or poor.

A blog entry by the Burning Platform put out in June 2011 called “Livin in Beverly Hills (Oldie but Goodie)”, does a good job of depicting the fact that Americans all over the United States are attempting to live as if they are in Beverly Hills. Read this blog entry to at least get a summary of what many people perceive Beverly Hills to be, and just how the toxic trends there permeate minds of millions of Americans who think that they too need to ‘live in Beverly Hills’ (or a replica thereof), and will go into debt just to achieve this idealized standard of living. Beverly Hills has in fact, over the years, been a microcosm of what the rest of America wants to be.

Shifting from the commonly perceived glamour of Beverly Hills, let’s now talk about some of the realities of this place. To reiterate, the people there live in ridiculously expensive homes, particularly those in the 90210 Zip code. Even in the poorer areas of Beverly Hills, the homes still run well into the millions. And, in the areas of so-called “Beverly Hills Adjacent” (i.e. the areas of “Los Angeles” around Beverly Hills that cannot say they are in Beverly Hills, but they wannabe “Beverly Hills”), these people often drive cars that are faster and fancier than those who actually do live within Beverly Hills proper (within 90210)! Interesting phenomenon! As you can see, there is a competitive spirit among the “wannabes” and those who really do have! The “wannabes” are racing around in the latest Ferrari 450, Lamborghini, or a Porsche (i.e. rentals no doubt!) while the “haves” drive Bentleys or Rolls Royces. There are exceptions to my generalization, but the depiction serves pretty well when looked at from a broader scale.

Most tourists walk around Rodeo Drive as is to be expected. However, those tourists who are adventurous enough to dare to walk into some of the areas well north of the touristy areas (within the 90210 residential areas) might have an entirely different experience in this place. For one thing, the residents there are edgy, and will call the Police on just about anyone or anybody who does not “look right” or who does not fit the image of those they would expect to walk in their sterilized neighborhoods. Many who live in 90210 believe that because they pay enormous amounts of property taxes (typically $25K to $35K or more per year), that they somehow believe that they will also receive higher quality police and fire protection services and other services! The reality; however, is that while they may have a higher concentration of police officers within the 90210 residential areas, than in other poorer areas of Beverly Hills, are these people really much safer than the rest of the common people living in other areas of Los Angeles? Perhaps to some degree, they are safer. However, if there should ever be a major crisis, such as a major earthquake, prolonged power outage, or an economic collapse, my guess then is that these people would in fact not be safe at all. The cops in Beverly Hills are just as slobbish looking and as fat as any donut-eating cop anywhere else! One only has to walk into a trendy coffee shop or café in Beverly Hills to know that. The ones I have seen strut around in self aggrandizement with their bellies sagging beneath their waistline. It is not only their substandard physiques that reveal their orientation, it is also their attitude. This attitude says something to the effect of “I am among the highest paid cops in America, and I don’t even have to put my neck on the line most of the time, because Beverly Hills is an otherwise ‘safe’ place! I’m too good to do any real police work. Rather, I get a bigger paycheck than most other cops and I get to spend much of my time in coffee shops! I don’t work for you scumbag citizen slaves. You work for me!” It is this slavish decadent attitude that I noticed among a fair number of Beverly Hills cops.

Knowing what I know about Beverly Hills and its protective infrastructure, if I were a multimillionaire with a $10mil home and several toys – Bentleys, Rolls Royces, etc, I would in no way “feel safe” in that the Beverly Hills Police are there to “save me.” And yet, that is exactly the perception that many wealthy Beverly Hills residents have when it comes to the issue of their “security.” To go further than that, many Beverly Hills residents expect the police and emergency services to stop an earthquake that happens to have its epicenter right within that area!!! This is outrageous! I assume that most multimillionaire residents of Beverly Hills had to be somewhat intelligent in order to even make enough money to live there. How then can it be that such people are stupid and crazy enough to think that their police possess some form of godly powers to stop an earthquake, or to prevent it from occurring? This is insanity!

For those that do not believe what I am saying, read this post: “Beverly HillsResidents Pissed at Nerve of Earthquake to Strike in Their Neighborhood”.  Here is the text of the report:

“A 3.2 earthquake mildly disturbed residents of Beverly Hills and West Hollywood this morning, prompting calls to local police because people in Beverly Hills aren't supposed to fall victim to pesky things like nature.

The quake struck at about 3:30 a.m., and the AP reports that the complaints began flooding in soon thereafter:

Beverly Hills police watch commander Sgt. Michael Publicker said his station has been getting numerous calls from anxious citizens. He said, "Every alarm in the city is going off."

Residents of nearby areas were seemingly less peeved:

                        An officer at the nearby West Los Angeles police precinct said there had been no calls about the quake.

The quake's epicenter was one mile from West Hollywood, reports the LA Times.”

An earthquake is an “act of God.” The only thing I can conclude is that there is a large contingent of 90210 residents that do not even believe in God! Instead, they worship ‘mammon’ (money and wealth), and they believe that money can buy them nearly just about anything! Sure, money can buy all the things that they would ever want like mansions, expensive cars, vacation homes, private airplanes/helicopters, etc. Sure, they can purchase “executive protection” services and insurance to cover those things which may be lost, stolen or damaged. However, can these wealthy residents purchase true “security?” Do they truly know how to protect themselves against physical harm? The mass majority of them do not! And further to that, their supernatural expectations of the Beverly Hills Police to “save them” in a crisis is preposterous! It is as if these people expect their government to be God! And, it can never meet that expectation.  

Lastly, to those 90210 residents who worship mammon and their government, do understand that your soul is also doomed! You cannot serve mammon and God. You must choose one or the other. Most (if not all) of you have chosen to serve mammon. As the Bible states, it is “easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter God's Kingdom!” (Luke 18:25) And for those Americans who covet that which 90210 residents have and for those who wish to live as they do, I say that you are already blessed to NOT live as they do. For if you were to, you too would be under the curse that they are under.

And to any multimillionaires living in Beverly Hills or in a replica of Beverly Hills somewhere in the USA (or elsewhere in the world), you really do need to reevaluate who you will serve. Will you serve mammon or will you serve God? Those serving God will have the only two basics that human beings really do need – food and shelter! It is these two things that true believers never have to worry about. God provides them to those that believe. Matthew 6 recorded Jesus' statements which back my assertions made in this paragraph. No words are better than the ones He spoke!

²⁴ “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
²⁵ “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? ²⁷ And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? ²⁸ And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, ²⁹ yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. ³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! ³¹ Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ (Matthew 6:24-31 NASB)
 

Those having faith in God also have eternal life! Those serving mammon may have the very best that this world has to offer, but they have nothing beyond this life on earth!

To those who want to learn more about what really matters in life, get and read my book on Amazon dot com, which is linked from my blog page. That is a great start, which will show you how to properly study the Holy Bible. Reading the Bible without proper contextual understanding is a great way to misinterpret what you read. Serve God and your life (and soul) will fair so much better than a life in Beverly Hills!