who listens to these things?

to my chagrine, the vast majority of people I know judge the music they like not by the lyrics in the song, but by the beat and the music itself. That's how people can justify dancing around to a great groove while totally forgetting that the song is about nothing but violence, or sex, or something else often ill-represented by the songwriter.
That would also explain why year after year people numbly sing Christmas carols, pop artists record the songs, and no one would seem actually to be affected by the words coming out of their mouths.
I'm not talking Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, or Frosty the Snowman, or even Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Those are just sugar coated little ditties that in and of themselves are mind-numbing when you hear them 50 times a day for the entire 6 weeks preceeding Christmas. I'm thinking of the traditional Christmas carols, the ones that are actually about Christmas, and not the materialistic representations created to pad someone's checkbook. Handel's Messiah is famous Christmas fare in concert halls and orchestra performances every year. People love that work, it's one of my favorites. But how many people can tell you which book of the Bible Handel took much of his inspiration from? Or exactly what he's talking about? It's quite the inspired and inspiring work, if you stop to listen.
Or one of my favorite carols, O Holy Night. If you actually look at the words, it reads like a Gospel message: The world had been waiting, drowning in sin and hopelessness, when a Savior finally came one blessed night. There was instant change. Hope and excitement couldn't be contained; the angels even came down to help celebrate, it was so monumental. And this Savior would make his mission to set the captives free, to bring peace and liberty to all men. Those who know this are so thankful, so gratefully awed, that they will live the rest of their lives to praise him. The Gospel, in a song about Christmas. People buy it on CDs, they sing it on the radio, you'd think if people would just hear this message, lives would change. But we've all heard it a million times since we were kids, and we've thrilled to hear it sung by the great voices, and it's a beautiful tune, haunting and chilling. So what does it matter what the words actually are? It's only brought out once a year. You hum it to yourself, you sing along with the radio, and then you put it away - just like your ornaments, your wrapping paper, and your lights. And you miss one of the most special messages that could ever be conveyed.