Have You Been Corrupted?

I begin today's post by saying that some of the content you are about to read was in an article I did a few years back on my 'To Run is to Live' blog. After I wrote it I received a lot of positive feedback regarding it. I believe it is very relevant to a site that says it's trying to help people get to the top of their game mentally and physically. I've tweaked it a bit as they say with added info and deletions to the original article.
I am sure everyone has heard the frog in the pan of water on the stove over a low heat story. For some reason through the years I have always enjoyed and referenced it. The frog is oblivious to his changing environment and ends up paying the ultimate price for it, his life.This,what I'll call a parable, has much application to us in today's society.
The original title was, 'Have You Been Debased?' I got the word from an essay I was reading which was about how badly our diet has been debased over the years.At the time I was reading it I was uncertain as to what the word debased meant. So, I looked it up and found the meaning to be---"to reduce in quality or value"--a synonym for it was--to corrupt.
The idea for this post came after looking around the internet and flipping through some channels on  television, observing what was considered by the writers to be newsworthy and relevant. I know I've gone on about the TV previously but there's more to it then that---Consider the following--

'Have we allowed our minds to be debased? Do we watch things on television and in the movies that have absolutely no redeeming value? If the television suddenly disappeared from the earth would we be lost and confused? What type of things do we read, do we even read? Do we look to be entertained or do we find and initiate our own entertainment? Have our everyday lives been debased? Do we think that owning lots of things is the way to go and that they are the key to happiness? If we do,then the way we view life has been debased. I think everyone out there sees what I'm getting at, you can plug in your own, "have you been debased" question to other facets of your life.

What I'm saying is that as people who want to be at the top of our game we need to be aware and discerning people. This takes an alert, inquisitive and active mind. Dulling it with useless mind numbing activities, consuming too much drink (as in alcohol) and crappy food is an easy lifestyle to settle into.Daily involvement in edifying pursuits that stimulate the mind and lead to growth as a person is a one way ticket to true satisfaction and success mentally, as well as physically.For some, shaking off their accumulated debased habits and views will take varying amounts of time and effort.The key is in being able to recognize if you've been debased in the first place. Here's hoping that the above may be a help.'
Have you gotten to the point that what you think is OK and normal has been determined because the majority of the population is doing it? If you have, then I say you've been debased.