It would seem that we have entered a period in the West that may well eventually rival the ennui, discontent, and hopelessness of the Weimar Republic. The results of our own spiral could theoretically eclipse the disaster that followed the Weimar Republic, although such a disaster may be applied with steadier, more calculating hands, given the effects of globalization.
Over the weekend, we were briefly shocked to learn that one Guy Edward Bartkus had set off a bomb in front of an IVF clinic in Palm Springs, Calif., that is, until news of Joe Biden’s prostate took over the headlines. Some of this is attributable to a news cycle once measured in days that now restarts itself in minutes, if not seconds. Couple that with the fact that the attention span of 21st-century Homo sapiens is remarkably short, and we have become a species that is easily distracted.
Consider Mr. Bartkus, another disaffected 20-something, who had apparently adopted a strain of nihilism that convinced him that life was not just unnecessary but detrimental. So much so that he found it insulting and practically evil that someone would be born without their consent. Bartkus’ solution was to unleash destruction on an IVF clinic in order to “prevent suffering.” For Bartkus, death was not just the means; it was the end.
One may assume that he haunted a slew of internet sites and chatted with people who reinforced his worldview to the point that he found it entirely feasible to detonate a bomb, which could have easily killed more people than just him. Bartkus refused to see the horizon and consider not just the possibilities of the future but also his responsibility to it. He drafted and acted out the script for a drama in which he was the tragic hero.
Consider Luigi Mangione, the man who murdered a health insurance executive and who is now a folk hero. Mr. Mangione came from a family of extraordinary means when compared to the finances of most regular Americans. He certainly had the resources and likely the connections to provide some sort of alternative health care to those who suffer, and if he were the hero some have made him out to be, he would have sacrificed at least some of this wealth and privilege for a greater good.
But Mangione preferred not to build anything, or at least make a solid run at building something. Instead, he preferred a flash of light, a puff of smoke, the smell of gunpowder, and a fresh corpse on the street. He cast himself as an avenger, some sort of modern-day gunfighter. Of course, in the wake of the murder, nothing has been made better. He has become a minor celebrity, and certain media fools have written gushing school-girl paeans to him. And that, in his heart of hearts, was likely what Mangione wanted all along.
Consider the ICE protesters. Last week, Savannah Hernandez traveled to the ICE facility in Newark to interview the coterie of aging hippies. One might be tempted to say that they are so afflicted with TDS that they have lost the capacity to reason. But what you see in the post below are members of a demographic (and their would-be heirs) hoping to get a few more miles out of their 60s outrage before going to the Great Commune in the Sky.
“You think child rapists deserve dignity?”
— Savanah Hernandez (@sav_says_) May 15, 2025
“Absolutely, I do”
I went and talked to protesters outside of the ICE detention center in Newark, because I wanted to know why they were defending the criminal illegal aliens inside: pic.twitter.com/QQqncEiAwo
Apparently, the dignity of the victims of such people is not up for debate — eggs and omelets, you know. One person on X opined that Hernandez was off base with trying to “own the Libs” in ignoring Christ’s doctrine of redemption and forgiveness. He claimed that the Libs in question were much closer to Christ than Hernandez.
Here, sadly, is Savanah is owning herself doing her "own the libs" content.
— Michael Crane (@MikeJCzapla) May 15, 2025
She says do child rapists deserve Dignity.
The answer according to Jesus is most certainly yes, so the left wing is much closer to Jesus than her - who preaches Jesus.
Hate the sin, love the sinner. https://t.co/AJLMTgiiFF pic.twitter.com/4R9opVxHee
Hernandez may or may not have been trying for clicks, likes, and retweets. Even violent criminals are free to seek redemption, and they should. But they must not be allowed access to more victims. The enormity of such crimes cannot be ignored or minimized.
Christ’s teachings should not be used glibly or brokered for personal pride. I have known church-going, Bible-quoting Christians in jail ministries who have gone to great lengths to defend people convicted of horrific crimes because of positive experiences in Bible studies. However, repentance is not achieved by merely showing up to Bible study, asking Jesus into your heart, or taking a quick dip in a baptismal pool.
Repentance may have to come in a jail cell and to those who genuinely seek it. It cannot come until one fully understands the scope of one’s sin and has done whatever was possible to make amends or restore what was taken or destroyed, if such is even possible. The men who so often lectured others on the virtues of the prisoners they ministered to, in some cases, extremely violent people, were more interested in convincing others that they occupied some theological and moral high ground than in wrestling with the often thorny subject of repentance.
The reasoning displayed above is not the product of a desire for social justice or any justice. If justice were the primary concern of the protesters, they would at least be equally concerned about the welfare of the victims as they are about that of the offenders. Rather, such a worldview is the natural outcome of people who have narrowed the scope of their existence to whatever releases their endorphins in opposition to Trump. Like Marlon Brando, they will rebel against whatever you’ve got. Their reactions justify their existence. They have the moral high ground.
Finally, consider Mr. Biden and his prostate cancer. Any first-year nursing student can tell you that prostate cancer is an incredibly slow-moving disease, so it is a foregone conclusion that Biden’s medical team and family were aware of his condition, along with his cognitive decline, years before the headlines.
But they didn’t care. The objective was to win an election and keep a party in power, not to provide the nation with a strong leader who could so much as articulate progressive goals, even if half of the country disagreed with him. “Prostate cancer? Mental deterioration? Bah! We’ll sort it out later!” In this case, the Democrats displayed their own dangerous narcissism, which held that everyone, even their president, was expendable for the greater good. Ironically, that greater good was simply a placeholder name for personal ambition.
The replacement for the social, economic, and moral vacuum of the Weimar Republic was devastating, and its effects are felt to this day. If we continue on this trajectory, we may find ourselves with a bigger mess than in ages past. Moral vacuums are easily exploited by people with vacuums of their own who are cognizant enough to ignore them in favor of their own ends. The question is not if we are prone to moral vacuums — we are — but whether we want to overcome them.
