Modern (or post-postmodern) ethic inclines more towards a secular humanism that is aversive to hard justice. The form of secular humanism is sympathetic towards rapists, murderers, and looters and in some cases, would even dare to eulogize criminals as heroes. Thus, they will eulogize a rapist-murderer as hero who has been sentenced to death by hanging, just because they hate capital punishment. They turn sympathetic towards mass murderers not because they do not hate murder, but because they do not wish for justice to be so brutal after all, so exacting. Movies and novels try to highlight the humane part of a villain and arouse sympathy towards his weaknesses.
Thus, real heroes who want to put an end to evil become villains in their eyes and villains become heroes. Media plays a villainous role in warping public opinion.
Also, historical amnesia is becoming a characteristic of modern world. In the past, histories were preserved in family tales and social narratives. In the modern period of increasingly splintered experiences, the only grand narrative is money, sex, and power. People are forgetful of or unmindful of historic lessons. They will easily believe a criminal to be a savior, because he speaks smoothly and authoritatively.
In short, we live in a corrupt and confused world. It is much more important now than ever to distinguish between feelings and facts, to rightly juxtapose mercy with justice, to celebrate morality, to affirm the truth.
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