Child Sacrifice and Our Desire to Ignore It

Some actions by humans are so dark that we tend to ignore them to avoid disturbing our thoughts. When others help by undermining truth-tellers or censoring news, we may feel relief as our lives seem better without the burden of knowing about the pain victims endure and the abuse they suffer.

It is easier to acknowledge past atrocities, such as the Holocaust or colonial massacres, as a means of displaying our moral superiority. It’s also simple to condemn abuses in other countries, which allows us to overlook issues within our own societies, leaving victims to suffer without our acknowledgment.

In September 2019, the New York Times published a report on child abuse in the United States, focusing on how children were taken to create violent pornographic images. The report highlighted the severe and growing issue of child abduction, enslavement, and assault for the entertainment of some adults. Law enforcement has struggled to address the vast scope of this problem, often prioritizing older cases due to limited resources. The Department of Justice has failed to provide mandated reports on these issues, and concern for children has not significantly improved over the years.

The New York Times article also pointed out that social media platforms often shield abusers from police investigations. There has been a worrying rise in the trafficking of unaccompanied children in the U. S. , with over 300,000 released without follow-up, potentially leading them into dangerous situations.

Recently, there has been increased awareness of the organized abuse of young teenage girls in England, partly due to comments made by Elon Musk which brought the issue into public discussion. This has been a problem for many years, as authorities chose to overlook the abuse to avoid social unrest. The scale of this abuse is staggering, with around 1,400 young girls reported to have been exploited in Rotherham alone, and the count may run into the tens of thousands across England.

Although one ethnic community has been associated with these issues, it is crucial to understand that many individuals from various backgrounds have also played roles in allowing this abuse to continue. Those who dared to speak out often faced persecution. Asserting that this is solely an ethnic or religious issue is misleading, as many organizations and leaders ignored the problem to maintain a false sense of societal harmony.

While it is right to direct anger at the abusers, we must also recognize a darker truth: our society is willing to sacrifice children for comfort. The responsibility to care for the oppressed has shifted to institutions, which have largely failed to act.

The systems meant to protect children are heavily underfunded and institutionalized, leading to a lack of accountability. The institutions generally tasked with safetypolitical parties, religious organizations, and NGOshave often chosen silence or complicity. Historical patterns show that child sacrifice is not new, but the current scale is alarming.

Despite technological advancements, society continues to fail at fulfilling the fundamental obligation of protecting children. Until we actively address these issues, we should not pretend that they only affect “others. ” Each of us bears some responsibility for this ongoing tragedy, and we must strive to do better. 

https://brownstone.org/articles/child-sacrifice-and-our-desire-to-ignore-it/