Humanity is outing itself

Profound evil has always existed, but usually, after it ran its course, during certain historical periods, such as the Holocaust, there was the renewed hope that, with enough introspection and personal accountability, each one of us would aspire to a higher level of humanity especially towards one another.

It seems that we cannot help ourselves, because, although we may be able to hold it together for a few decades, we always seem to gravitate back to the basest of behaviors. It’s who we are, and the greatest reason we need to turn to God, both as individuals and collectively as a people.

What am I talking about? In just the last week, both American and Israeli society have witnessed depraved acts, which should be roundly condemned but, instead, are being hailed, by some as righteous and brave.

In the U.S., we saw a healthcare CEO gunned down in cold blood, by a deranged young man, who felt compelled to be the sole arbiter of justice towards what he believed to be a corrupted insurance system which failed to work the way he believed it should. Not only described as heroic and courageous, but also a hot property, appealing to men and women, alike, many swooned over this monster. That anyone would find something redeemable, either externally or internally, in such an individual, only serves to indict their own soul, which is unable to spot blatant evil when it hits you in the face.

Sadly, the same can be said about the inability to recognize true bravery and selflessness in the unmistakably exceptional character of Daniel Penny, the former marine who put his own life on the line when stepping forward to protect fellow passengers on a N.Y. subway car, whose lives were imperiled by a crazed madman who wanted to kill. After being exonerated, BLM activists have told him to leave town and be afraid for his safety the rest of his life.

There are no greater examples of the twisting of good and evil, found within these two cases where vigilante justice is being called for, against white people and also against anyone deemed to be profiting off of corporate America.

But while these shocking events are taking place, thousands of miles away from Israel, we, too, are getting a front-row seat to some of the greatest depravity which the world has ever known as hundreds of dissidents were unearthed in an underground Syrian prison, revealing abject torture, starvation and what is being described as a human slaughterhouse, where the worst conditions known to man have driven many to insanity – all for the crime of failing to support the Assad regime. (Inside the hung for hidden cells in Sednaya prison, Syria’s ‘human slaughterhouse,’ The Guardian, December 9, 2024)

Now, a mass grave with at least 100,000 bodies has been discovered in Syria, the legacy left by former President Bashar al-Assad’s government.   

Jeremiah, the prophet, spoke about the depths to which man is able to sink, describing the human heart as being deceitful and desperately sick, (Jer. 17:9) but, each time we are confronted by the madness that can take hold of a human being, with no boundaries or limitations of savagery to which they are capable, it still shocks the system.

The problem is that we are getting a good whiff of this on almost a daily basis.  Whether here in Israel, the U.S. or on other continents, the intensity of hatred and disregard for our own kind, coupled with the deranged belief that we can seize a divine mandate to end a life that does not please us, or drive others to insanity, as a punishment for not bowing to whatever regime is in power, is a horrific revelation which we must, yet again, be forced to encounter as it becomes more and more mainstream.

It's hard to deny that a new form of madness has taken over many sectors of the population, starting with so many young people who seem to be incapable of properly sifting through the trash of social media content which, all too often, lacks a heart, a soul and sound reasoning. We just saw an example of this as a 15-year-old student in a Wisconsin Christian school took the life of a teacher and classmate.

The uncontrollable impulse to abandon basic logic and sentiment, seems to be a temptation which is too overpowering for a generation that has somehow escaped the basic tenets of what it means to show humanity to others.  

When a renowned reporter can smile and express joy, over the fact that a “corporate enemy” who was snuffed out, deserved his fate, despite his being a husband and father of two young children, then we, as a species, are definitely outing ourselves, because there is not even the slightest attempt to camouflage our glee at the demise of another human being who someone took upon themselves to murder.

This is about as serious as it gets, before we completely descend into the abyss of disgrace and shame for becoming the demons who have always been out to destroy us but need no help since we are taking over their role. 

If the confluence of these horrifying events does not cause us to become circumspect enough, to meticulously take stock of what we are rapidly becoming, then it’s almost certain that we will continue to spiral into a downward trajectory where sanity, along with measured thinking and responses, will become outdated, replaced by the evil proclivity that comes from our own narcissism and unchecked boundaries, taking us to a place of no return where each person does what is right in their own eyes – the true definition of anarchy.

There’s only one way to stop it, and that is to employ the old sackcloth and ashes mentality of remorse and renouncement while we invoke the presence of Almighty God to help us understand our place as the creation and not the Creator, despite how much we would love to usurp that position. Luckily, there is no vacancy for a new supreme being, because no one would be found worthy!

It’s time to take hold of ourselves while there is still time, and return to some semblance of humanity, because at the moment, it’s becoming harder and harder to recognize who we are and what we’ve allowed ourselves to become!