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“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” – Isaiah 5:20
A “scapegoat” is the one who must atone for the sins of others. Leviticus- 6 outlines the ceremony. The Jewish high priest Aaron laid hands on a goat as a symbol of transfer of the sins of the people to that goat. The goat then sent into wilderness represented a way to release the people from their evil transgressions.
As Christians, we believe Jesus Christ crucified on the cross is our scapegoat. He took our sins so we can be saved. Yet, we must still take responsibility and confess our sins to take advantage of His sacrifice.
The political left uses the wrong scapegoat to forgive the sins of the criminal, and it robs those criminals of their salvation by giving them excuses for their evil behaviors. This encourages more crime. This is why the left cannot be trusted to manage crime.
The Data
Did you know the 30 cities with the highest per capital total crime rates are all (but 4) led by democrat mayors? And one of the non-democrats just recently switched to Republican and one other is a registered Independent. That means 87% of the worst crime cities are led by democrats. Many of these have had democrat leadership for many years.
The data seems to confirm that leftist democrat leadership inspires high crime rates. Is it just a coincidence that 87% of these cities are run by democrat administrations? We can agree, “correlation does not equal causality”. Therefore, let’s explore ideas that might explain the correlation of crime with democrat leadership. Perhaps it’s because they use a scapegoat(s) other than Jesus.
The Root Cause of Crime in Democrat Cities
One method of uncovering the root causes of events is to use the Systems Thinking “Iceberg Model”. The Iceberg model is a 4-level management model that helps us interpret events and identify root causes of those events. Perhaps the iceberg model helps us to uncover the root causes of high crime rates in democrat run cities.
Only 10% of an iceberg is visible above the water surface and this represents the observable event(s), i.e., the high crime rates.
The immediate next level is “patterns of behaviors”. This likely means a high percentage of the crime is committed by a small percentage of the population (repeat offenders). For example, according to the U.S. Census Bureau data from 2023, Black males make up approximately 4.8% of the population while accounting for approximately 52% of murder arrests. This is just one example.
The next level is “systemic structure”. This represents policies which may contribute to crime. For example, no bail, no jail policies (no-cash bail) allow an arrested offender to be set free while awaiting trial. Although a study by MFG Research claimed to show no appreciable increase in crime occurred because of these policies, wouldn’t removing the criminals from society assure a reduction in crime?
The final level is the mindset of the leadership. The mindset level asks, “what is the paradigm being used by leadership to form the structure (policies) and that cause the patterns of behaviors that lead to the event (results)?” The mindset influences the results (events). Does the political left’s mindset explain why 87% of high crime rate cities are run by democrat mayors? Let’s explore.
“Behold! The Lamb of God Who takes away the sins of the world.” – John 1:29
The Different Mindsets
“God is binary” – Mark Driscoll
The Bible describes a binary mindset. Examples include God and Satan; lies and truth; sin and holiness; Hell, and Heaven; following the law and breaking the law; male and female. The bible promotes personal responsibility. It challenges each of us to become more loving, giving, and more “Christ like”. It compels us to look at ourselves and avoid sin.
In contrast, the political left encourages blame and excuses. Instead of searching for and taking personal responsibility in the face of challenges, the left’s mindset encourages blaming our troubles on others or on systemic racism. This is an excuse to AVOID personal responsibility. For example, no-cash bail policies are needed because, according to the left’s mindset, the criminal is not fully responsible for their crimes.
The political left embraces Marxist philosophy. Marxism is incompatible with these biblical principles. The bible promotes freedom, free will, accountability to follow God’s laws (Ten Commandments) and warns of consequences when those laws are broken.
“For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it.” – James 2:10
Marxism promotes the mindset of oppressors and oppressors (victims and victimizers). In the Marxist mindset the criminal becomes the victim, and the victimizer is the racist oppressive environment and those privileged (whites) within it. The left’s scapegoat becomes “systemic racism”.
The left encourages tolerance of law breakers because in their mindset “they have no choice but to behave badly.” Tolerance then takes the form of no-cash bail, and/or light sentences for horrific crimes. For example, a 20-year-old Rochester MN man got a jail sentence of 180 days for raping two girls under 9 years old. And all criminal charges will be erased if he successfully completes his probation.
The left’s mindset and policies allow (encourage) criminals to become entitled. Reparations, stealing from stores, and even murder become justified. Luigi Mangione shot and killed Brian Thompson the CEO of United healthcare on December 4, 2024. Many leftists expressed glee. Why? Because Mangione believed he was victimized by United Healthcare. He was justified. Brian Thomson and the healthcare system become the scapegoats.
Tolerance or Compassion?
“Hate the sin but not the sinner” - C.S. Lewis
To truly manage crime, we must use compassion for the criminal, not tolerance for their bad behaviors. Accepting or endorsing ungodly behavior, false doctrine, or violations of the Ten Commandments is unacceptable. We need to feel compassion, yet we need to allow consequences which help the criminal learn to change behavior. In 1-Corinthians- 5, St. Paul asks we hand a sinful person over to Satan such that he/she can have his sinful nature destroyed while saving his soul on the day the Lord returns.
The political left is instead tolerant of the sinner and the sin because the criminal is the victim of a racist system. Kilmar Abrego Garcia was an illegal and an oppressed Salvadoran immigrant. He was a confirmed member of the terror gang MS-13. He faced charges of wife-beating and child trafficking. Despite all this he was supported by thousands of leftists. Baltimore ranks 5th in total crime rates in the country. The left called him “Maryland dad”.
Jimmy Kimmel’s show was just suspended by Disney and Sinclair because of a statement he made about Charlie Kirk’s alleged murderer. His statement was inconsistent with their employee policies. The left is claiming his suspension was an attack on free speech. President Trump and MAGA, who had nothing to do with the decision, became the scapegoat. The left is making excuses for his inappropriate behaviors because he is now a victim of the MAGA oppressors instead of being recognized as the murderer. We can have compassion for him and even pray for him, but we must not accept his sin. For the left, MAGA and Trump become the scapegoats.
After the brutal murder of Iryna Zarutska in Charlotte, Mayor Vi Lyles argued, “We will never arrest our way out of issues such as homelessness and mental health,” urging the public to show compassion toward mentally ill criminals as they would cancer patients. Tolerance for the criminal was shown instead of compassion. When the court released him 14 times before he committed murder, they were tolerating his sin. For the mayor, the alleged murderer‘s scapegoat was something or someone other than Jesus.
Summary
The political left embraces Marxism, giving tolerance and excuses to criminals instead of compassion and consequences (tough love) to help them change behavior. They prioritize tolerance for the criminal while ignoring the pain of the victims of the crimes. Certainly, a dysfunctional system influences us to sin. But we still control our behaviors. We can still be accountable for our sins.
Improving the system, having compassion for criminals, providing consequences to take responsibility to save souls are not mutually exclusive.
The left’s mindset leads to lenient policies such as open borders, lenient sentences, protests and even violence. I.C.E. agents are being attacked, preventing them from upholding the law. The left supports criminals like Garcia and makes excuses for the alleged murderer of Charlie Kirk.
Can we get back to basics such as following the law and the Ten Commandments? Can we provide consequences instead of tolerance? Can we thereby show tough love to criminals, helping them to make amends and save their souls? Can we love the sinner and hate the sin?
Can we encourage high standards instead of providing excuses? Can we embrace Jesus as our scapegoat? Which mindset is best, Marxist victim/victimizer or the compassionate biblical? Which mindset is best for you, your community, the country, the world?
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