The very idea of celebrating death seems like something we should have banished to the primitive pages of distant human history. Unfortunately, despite the immeasurable advances our civilization has made, it seems like our societal structures are lagging behind, with a mainstream celebratory culture of death being promulgated to this day.
While the celebration of death in Western culture was usually reserved for the worst amongst us, we now live in a society where even the mildest political disagreements are used to justify a shockingly macabre jubilance in the face of political violence, or even the death of political “enemies”.
Nothing provides greater proof of this despicable practice than the passing of David Koch, the billionaire businessman, philanthropist, and political activist, who died on August 23, 2019 at the age of 79 after a twenty-seven year battle against prostate cancer.
Demonstrating not even the merest shred of respect for David Koch or his grieving family, social media erupted with messages cheering David Koch’s death, taunting his brother Charles Koch, or mocking those who were mourning his passing.
Today Charles Koch is learning how overjoyed the world will be when he dies.
— Sandra Newman (@sannewman) August 23, 2019
I feel sorry for Charles Koch. His brother’s passing must be difficult. I pray they are soon reunited.
— Charlie Galvin ???? (@cxarli) August 23, 2019
In a despicable display, Bill Maher irredeemably dishonored himself by openly celebrating David Koch’s death on his HBO show “Real Time”, saying “Yesterday David Koch of the zillionaire Koch brothers died...of prostate cancer. I guess I’m going to have to re-evaluate my low opinion of prostate cancer.” He continued with “F*** him. The Amazon is burning up. I’m glad he’s dead and I hope the end was painful.”
Yesterday David Koch, who funded climate-science deniers for decades died of prostate cancer. Mourners have been asked that in lieu of flowers to just leave their car engines running. pic.twitter.com/YvBrDf6Pui
— Bill Maher (@billmaher) August 24, 2019
The appalling laughter and applause which followed Maher’s utterly disgusting comments showed us the true nature of the Left, how far they have strayed from the most basic standards of human decency, and how their cult of death has permeated every level of political discourse.
This is the same Left who worship at the altar of on-demand abortion, who celebrated the bravery of Alyssa Milano when she admitted to having two abortions in 1993, lauding her pride in the decision to sacrifice the unalienable rights of two human beings to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” in favor of her career. Even though David Koch was himself pro-abortion, the Left cheered his passing regardless.
On the same day as David Koch’s death, it was announced that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had been treated for pancreatic cancer. Ginsburg - dubbed as “The Notorious RBG” - is one of the Left’s political heroes. Regardless of her clear bias and open political activism, the Left would rightly condemn any celebration of her unfortunate demise. However, their warranted castigation of such disgusting behavior would not be based on some form of a shared respect for human life, but upon their obsessive and tribalistic allegiance to political ideology.
This form of tribalism, which dismisses the value of every human life and only applies basic levels of compassion and decency if it is politically expedient, will continue to tear our society apart if left unchecked.
One defining characteristic of a civilized society is the universal acknowledgment of the value of life regardless of political viewpoint. By that metric, we no longer live in a civilized society. When we use political disagreement to justify the celebration of death, then we risk opening a door to fascism which is notoriously difficult to close. If that door opens, civilization is truly lost.