Last year when Iryna Zarutska was (allegedly) murdered on the train by DeCarlos Brown Jr., I (and countless others) wrote about the scourge of violent criminals being released to prey on innocent civilians. But I recently started looking at it from a different angle, particularly when I saw the contrast between the way the Knicks fans behaved after their team won and the Japanese did after their team’s game. It occurred to me that something bigger is going on. Not that the scourge of violent crime isn’t real, because it is and we see it play itself out on our screens every day.
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No, I started to look at it differently in that this whole soft on the bad guys problem is a symptom, not the cause, per se. It’s like focusing on the rope or the gun someone uses to commit suicide rather than recognizing that a lot went on before they ever got to that point. As such, the problem is much deeper than a broken justice system. America is in the middle of a moral crisis.
We see it every day, almost everywhere. In Minnesota, we see immigrants defrauding taxpayers out of millions via fake childcare and healthcare scams. After the Karmelo Anthony verdict, black supporters were saying that the “poor boy” should be set free while others were calling for the murder of whites. Across the country we see “teens” ruin stores, community activities, and sporting events with virtual impunity. In LA we saw an election be stolen with everyone watching. In cities from Baltimore to Chicago and beyond, we see schools that graduate kids who can’t even read.
I could go on with an encyclopedia length list of examples of moral problems showing themselves in America every day.
It’s one thing to have a moral crisis as an individual. You handle that by going to see your priest, talking with friends or family, or finding a support group. But what does a nation do when it has such a crisis? Sadly, usually nothing. But not always, as we’ve seen in El Salvador.
From a third of Americans on the government dole to drunk drivers with multiple arrests to the owners of vicious dogs getting slaps on the wrist when their dogs attack, the signs of the moral crisis are seemingly everywhere.
The reality is, in America in 2026, we have a crisis of responsibility. More precisely, we have a crisis of consequences. Simply put, almost no one is ever held responsible for anything and most feel like they have the right to… everything and anything. In a country of 350 million people, there are over 100 million of them living off the taxes of others. From welfare to food stamps to housing assistance and more, America has become a place where not working and living off taxpayers is not only normal, but a right. There are families who have lived on welfare for generations, and no one feels any responsibility to work to provide for their family.
America could easily become the vanguard of Western civilization once again by simply acting morally, with common sense: Make America a place where people are forced to take responsibility for their actions again.
But politically, the challenge with that is… women. Not to put a too-fine point on it, but much of what’s wrong with America began when women gained the right to vote… and even before: Who do you think began the Prohibition movement? Where do you think gold stars in schools and participation trophies come from? Women are naturally empathetic to a far higher degree than men. How many times have you seen when a brute attacks a couple and the man, defending them, begins to beat the hell out of the bad guy, only for the woman to try to restrain her man, and as a consequence, they both get beaten to a pulp? Think of that on a civilizational scale. It’s no wonder that three women, Barack Obama, Angela Merkel, and Ursula von der Leyen, are most responsible for the West being overrun by third-world invaders.
Whether it’s women (and to be honest, it’s really liberal women…) or eunuchs or professional victims, the reality is, America’s moral compass is off. The traditional nuclear family is disappearing. Individual responsibility is a quaint footnote in history. The notion of working hard to take care of your family is disappearing.
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So what would a moral America run with common sense look like? The first thing would be a justice system that worked to protect citizens. An across the board 3-strikes you’re out rule for violent criminals. (1% of the criminals are responsible for 63% of the violent crime.) Employ the death penalty for crimes which are appropriate, like murder and the rape of children. Drunk drivers should spend a minimum of a decade in prison and if they kill someone, they should get the death penalty. If a vicious dog kills a person and the owner is responsible, they should spend decades in prison.
For “teens” involved in street takeovers and rampaging through stores, not only should they be arrested and jailed, but their parents should also be held responsible. Eliminate any welfare benefits they’re receiving. Arrest them for multiple infractions.
For those involved in fleecing taxpayers, while capital punishment may be a bridge too far, their sentences should number in decades, not just years.
But it’s not just the justice system. It’s more than that. The government should not be in the income redistribution business at all. Individual responsibility starts in the home, and that starts with working to support a family. With a job. To be clear, much of this problem was created when government programs made fathers expendable. The cancer of unwed motherhood is very much at the core of America’s responsibility problem, particularly in black America.
The government should phase out all welfare programs and should simultaneously roll back regulations and taxes so that entrepreneurship can rescue the country.
Eliminate NGOs. It’s not that private organizations shouldn’t help. They should. It’s just that the tax system should not be used to create fake charities that fund leftist agendas and rarely help anyone.
Eviscerate DEI. No organization that receives $1 of taxpayers money should have DEI as any element of its program. This is particularly true of schools. Schools should admit and grade on one metric, merit. Merit is the measure that gives a person dignity and is the basis for pride of accomplishment, both of which are lacking tremendously.
Deport every illegal. With upwards of 50 million illegals in the United States, from jobs to homes to hospital beds, Americans find themselves underpaid and overcharged for practically everything in the economy. It’s a lot easier to get a job and work for a paycheck to support your family when there aren’t millions of illegals able to work for lower wages.
Draconian, maybe, but big problems require big solutions. You can suggest this is pie in the sky thinking, and that may indeed be true. What’s the likelihood of all of these things and more in the same vein coming to pass? A snowball’s chance in Hell I’d say. Nonetheless, that doesn’t mean they don’t need to be said. Movements start out with ideas, even if they take a while. And besides, government can sometimes fix things, even its mistakes. See the 21st Amendment.
Follow Vince on X at @ImperfectUSA
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