One of the hallmarks of the ongoing Cultural Revolution in the United States is the desperate efforts of successful entertainers to try to stay relevant and ingratiate themselves to their new moral masters.
Exhibit One is James Cameron now repenting of his wildly successful Terminator franchise, which had two good movies and then a bunch of crappy ones. I don't actually know how many there are at this point as I stopped watching.
There are a couple of things to unpack in this particular "confession," because what Cameron is doing is a clear case of Yard Sign Calvinism. His alleged regret for "fetishizing" firearms is actually a pretty bold claim that Hollywood didn't push gun violence until he, James Cameron, entered the scene. Death Wish and Dirty Harry would like to have a word with him.
This is of course the cheapest for of repentance, because he's not giving up anything, and actually trying to ingratiate himself with the current power brokers.
"Gosh, I'm sorry I made a boatload of money and am now fabulously rich. This apology relieves me of any obligation to donate to charities that benefit the victims of violent crime. I'm going to go play with my submarine now."
Similarly Molly Ringwald has also announced that – after decades of affluence thanks to movies she merely acted in – she now thinks that they are wrong.
Again, her statement contains no pledge to spend the fruit of her ill-gotten gains on charities or in any way inconvenience herself, it's just about letting everyone know she's now a better person than she was, and also a better person than anyone who likes her previous work.
One of the worst abuses of Catholicism is when the Rite of Reconciliation is treated as something of a box-checking exercise. You do the sin, go to the priest, confess, say some prayers, and then do it again.
No. That's now how it works. Without sincere remorse, the sins aren't forgiven. Without sincere acts of penance, the sins aren't forgiven.
There is an increasing emphasis on this in the Church. I'm noticing that penance is no longer an arbitrary number of prayers, but also requires some effort to heal the wound that sin has caused.
This is as it should be. Simply telling God you're sorry is not enough; one must then go and make amends for the harm one has caused.
Because so much of Hollywood (and its elite wannabees) are immune from consequences, this is an alien concept to them. (Heh)
One of the Enemy's most effective snares is the combination of pride and complacency, perhaps with a dollop of self-righteousness on top. The signs of repentance are not directed toward God, but the popular culture.
Their goal is not to clear their conscience to to maintain (or regain) access to the decadence of their youth.
As scripture tells us, they shall have their reward.
Chateau Lloyd 
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