Looting Is for Losers

Last week, more than 100 (mostly teenage) hoodlums swarmed Center City Philadelphia in a frenzied but coordinated attack, methodically breaking windows and ransacking stores as they helped themselves to high-end sneakers, designer clothes, and large-screen TVs among a myriad of other items… none of which belonged to them. Sadly and tellingly, this was not an isolated event.

In recent months, similar scenes have been repeated in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Baltimore, and countless other metropolitan areas. And so, it is time to call out this lawless pattern of behavior for what it is: an almost complete breakdown of societal norms and a total lack of respect for authority, other people’s property, and the rule of law.

In this not-so-brave new world we find ourselves in, far too many adults – including absentee fathers and permissive mothers – have abdicated their parental responsibilities, allowing their offspring to run wild and free… and without an ounce of supervision. Our public schools, which have promoted godlessness and moral relativism for decades, are also to blame. So are liberal churches and their pandering pastors, who refuse to boldly proclaim the moral truths in God’s Word because they are afraid of offending the spiritual snowflakes in their pews.

Another culprit is social media, which is rapidly destroying the minds and morals of our youth. Instead of reading books to build their brains or playing sports to build their bodies, they are watching TikTok videos around the clock. As a result, their increasingly boorish behavior is being shaped not by responsible adults, but by their own peers… and the more outlandish, the more influential.

One of the more tragic results of this parental and educational malpractice is grandparents fearing for their own safety as younger family members prey on their elderly relatives. If you have something I want, I will take it from you at the drop of a hat… or the swinging of a club… or the throwing of a punch.

And yes, at the point of a knife or the barrel of a gun.

Every law-abiding American should be both sickened and angered by these mass lootings and by the random and rampant acts of violence that often accompany them. Exhibit A is the man who was savagely beaten and robbed in broad daylight last week in Chicago. His crime? Taking a short cut down an alley where three cowardly criminals laid in wait.

The inescapable conclusion is that our inner cities are devolving into war zones. Look for a mass exodus of businesses and residents, both of which will be taking their money with them, further eroding the urban tax base. Before you know it, Chicago will resemble Caracas and Tucson will be a carbon copy of Tijuana… one of the most dangerous cities in the world.

Now that we’ve identified the problem and some of its causes, what is the solution?

In one word: GOD. As John Adams famously and prophetically said, “Our constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” In other words, affording citizens constitutional freedoms without moral constraints is a recipe not only for disaster, but also mayhem, bedlam, and anarchy.

Either Americans return en masse to God and the Judeo-Christian principles on which our nation was founded or get ready for another Mad Max sequel… this time for real.