You may all have seen the recent riots in London, Manchester, Birmingham and other major cities in the UK, where mindless gangs of feral youth attacked vehicles, setting some alight, and where innocent bystanders were hurt and looting took place.
There were the inevitable comments from the usual suspects about young people not being engaged, systematic racism, lack of job prospects and other painful excuses for bad behaviour. One commentator observed that “there can be no excuse for this brutal behaviour. What we saw was not a political act but an outbreak of vicious nihilism.” He went on to say that “Indeed this mentality is deeply immoral, for the biggest losers from the Tottenham riots are the decent, law abiding citizens who have lost their homes or businesses. Their determination to contribute to our society has ended up being punished by brutes who demand respect but give none to others.”
Another commentator said that “Years of liberal dogma have spawned a generation of amoral, uneducated, welfare dependent, brutalised youngsters.” He went on to say: “If you live a normal life of absolute futility, which we can assume most of this week’s rioters do, excitement of any kind is welcome. The people who wrecked swathes of property, burned vehicles and terrorised communities have no moral compass to make them susceptible to guilt or shame. Most have no jobs to go to or exams they might pass. They know no family role models, for most live in homes in which the father is unemployed, or from which he has decamped.”
This has been on the cards for many years. We have had a succession of governments who have dismantled the fabric of a decent society by undermining the importance of marriage, the bedrock of society, and redefined it. On top of that, co-habitation is now seen as the “norm” where feckless young men father children by different women. Many grow up in one parent families and jobs can be hard to find for those even when well qualified. Many youngsters have become dependent on welfare benefits and seem to feel that living off the state is their right. With time on their hands and little to do, this can be a potent mix where the disciplines of yesteryear are discarded. I heard, on the radio, a young girl looter telling a BBC reporter that “it showed the rich and the police that ‘we can do what we like.’”
And the “rent-a-mob” mentality takes hold.
A week later, and we had the Prime Minister and other leading politicians in the country talking about looking at ways to fix a broken society. And this was from a group of career politicians, many of whom had been caught with their fingers in the till over the expenses scandal. What sheer hypocrisy! Not once did I hear anything about God, the Bible or Christianity being mentioned in the plans of action to be discussed as these issues are investigated. As the deputy Prime Minister is an atheist, he would be unlikely to look at any spiritual aspect of any proposed form of action.
Biblical values are consistently undermined by the teaching of evolution in schools, that all life styles are equal irrespective of true morality, and an aggressive atheistic lobby holds sway where a gullible public swallow their intellectual nonsense. Christianity is often sidelined and ridiculed, and the Bible is seen as being outdated and unnecessary. The one place where there are sustainable answers is rarely, if ever, mentioned.
There is little esteeming others better than self and doing what is in the best interests of neighbours. A selfish society has developed where these riots take place, and the perpetrators feel that it is their right to act in such a way. And much handwringing takes place by those in charge.
With all of this potent mix present, just what did they think would happen?
