Crime, Accountability, and Social Decline

by Gary Null, PhD — 

We see how ideology and politics have quietly unraveled moral responsibility in a society that has forgotten what consequences mean. Against the backdrop of rising crime, weakened law enforcement, and collapsing cultural standards, we can now trace how decades of social confusion, political permissiveness, and generational disconnection have eroded the ethical foundation that once held communities together.

Now with historical insight and compassionate clarity, we can explore how the normalization of theft, the retreat of public order, and the decline of educational and family structures have produced a crisis not merely of safety, but of spirit. Crime, is more than lawbreaking — it is a symptom of a culture losing its grounding in meaning, purpose, and shared responsibility.

As of today, we can all call for renewal. There is a path toward legislative balance, civic engagement, spiritual reconnection, and the rebuilding of community trust. It begins with accountability and compassion working hand in hand, for true justice emerges only when society blends firmness with humanity.

It is time for restoring integrity in turbulent times — a reminder that healing begins when we choose responsibility over resignation, and principle over permissiveness.

Epigraph

“A society is not destroyed by the wicked. It is destroyed when the good choose silence.”
— Gary Null

The Fraying Thread of the Common Good

There comes a moment in every civilization when the familiar becomes unrecognizable.
When the streets once walked without fear begin to whisper a different story.
When the shopkeeper no longer greets dawn with hope, but with dread — wondering whether today will be the day someone walks in not for goods, but for destruction.

We have reached such a moment.

And yet the crisis we face is not simply about crime statistics or political policies. It is a deeper unraveling — a spiritual erosion, a quiet collapsing of shared ethics and communal responsibility. Crime is not merely the breaking of laws; it is the breaking of trust. And when trust is broken broadly enough, a society begins to drift from its moral center.

I have lived long enough to witness the full arc of American confidence: from the civic strength of the 1950s, through the tumult of the 1960s, into the cynicism of the 70s, the greed of the 80s, and the accelerating fragmentation of the new millennium. Each decade brought changes, but never have the changes cut so deeply into the root system of our culture as they have now.

We are a nation losing its sense of consequence.

Not long ago, theft was considered wrong not because of law, but because of conscience. Children were taught that accountability was the bedrock of character. Families served as moral compasses. Schools reinforced responsibility. Community elders modeled restraint, duty, and respect.

Now?
We live in a time when some proudly film their own crimes for social media likes. Shoplifting is excused as a form of “economic justice.” District attorneys decline to prosecute offenses once understood as the first stepping-stones to harder criminality. Teachers are told to lower expectations so that students do not feel “shamed” by academic standards.

This is not progress. This is surrender.

But this chapter is not a lament. It is a diagnosis — and a remedy. For we cannot heal what we refuse to see. And we cannot restore what we do not first understand.

So let us look honestly at how we arrived here — and how we reclaim accountability, dignity, and the common good.

I. The Long Descent — How We Lost Our Moral Compass

The erosion of accountability did not begin with any one policy or politician. It began with a long and gradual weakening of the cultural immune system.

1. The 1960s: Revolution Without Reconstruction

The social justice movements of the 1960s achieved extraordinary victories — civil rights, expanded freedoms, protection of expression. But beneath the triumphs lay an unintended shift: the idea that all authority was inherently suspect, and all rebellion inherently righteous.

Authority — be it parental, educational, or civic — became synonymous with oppression. And while some authority was oppressive and desperately needed reform, the blanket rejection of all structure left a vacuum.

Nature abhors a vacuum.
Culture abhors it even more.

Into that vacuum came not liberation, but confusion. The moral guardrails were loosened, but no deeper ethical framework arose to replace them.

2. The 1980s: Prosperity Without Purpose

Then came the 1980s — the era of acquisition. Yachts, mergers, extravagance, and the seductive belief that wealth was the highest form of virtue. The message was not subtle: whoever dies with the most toys wins.

Suddenly, the dignity of work — the inherent value of contribution — fell to the wayside. Success became a scoreboard. Gratitude was replaced by entitlement. The ethos of service eroded beneath the glamour of self-promotion.

A society cannot worship greed and then feign surprise when theft becomes normalized.

3. The 2000s to 2020s: Digital Fragmentation and the Collapse of Shared Reality

The digital age brought wonder and connection — but also distraction, disorientation, and disintegration of communal values.

Young people today grow up in a landscape where identity is curated rather than cultivated. They swim in an ocean of stimuli that undermines focus, empathy, and sustained moral reasoning. In a world where violence goes viral and cruelty gets clicks, desensitization becomes inevitable.

A spiritually nourished society would respond to this with deeper education and emotional guidance. Instead, we handed children smartphones and called it empowerment.

II. The New Normalization of Crime

As our cultural foundations loosened, crime slowly shifted from a deviance to a tolerated behavior — and finally, in some communities, to an unspoken norm.

This is not hyperbole. It is widely documented reality.

1. Decriminalization Without Discernment

Starting around 2014, many cities reduced penalties for theft, vandalism, trespassing, and drug possession. The intention was compassionate — to avoid criminalizing poverty and addiction. Compassion, however, without discernment, can be cruel.

When misdemeanors go unaddressed, communities destabilize.
When consequences fade, violations escalate.

In Los Angeles, thefts under $950 were effectively dismissed. In San Francisco, Walgreens and Target stores closed not because of corporate greed, but because of repeated mass shoplifting — often by organized groups who openly filled garbage bags with merchandise and walked out unchallenged.

2. The Psychology of Permission

When society signals that crime will not be punished, it doesn’t merely change behavior — it changes beliefs. People begin to feel entitled to transgression.

If the system won’t hold me accountable, why should I hold myself accountable?

This moral hazard is particularly dangerous for younger generations already grappling with:

• fractured family systems
• declining school performance
• social media-induced narcissism
• chronic stress
• and a sense of hopelessness about economic futures

Crime becomes not an ethical question, but a coping mechanism, a performance, or an identity.

III. When the Protectors Step Back — The Consequences of “Defund the Police”

No conversation about accountability can ignore the cultural shockwave of the “Defund the Police” movement.

Its initial impulse came from legitimate outrage over police brutality. Reform was necessary. But slogans are not policy. And the moral energy of reform was hijacked by a simplistic and destructive idea: that less policing equals more justice.

The results speak for themselves.

1. Cities Saw Historic Spikes in Violent Crime

• Between 2020 and 2022, murder rates surged 30% in major U.S. cities — the largest increase in modern American history.
• Chicago, Portland, Minneapolis, New York, and Philadelphia all recorded dramatic increases in shootings, carjackings, and assaults.
• Retail theft in some regions jumped up to 60%.

These escalations correlate directly with reduced law enforcement presence, budget cuts, and prosecutorial leniency.

2. Police Retirements and Resignations Hit Record Levels

When officers feel unsupported and vilified, they leave.
When they leave, crime increases.
When crime increases, vulnerable communities suffer most.

This is not ideology. It is data.

3. The Moral and Emotional Toll on Communities

Small businesses — especially minority-owned — were hit hardest.
Families in low-income neighborhoods experienced the greatest fear.
Children walking to school were exposed to more violence, not less.

The tragedy is clear:
When law enforcement is weakened, the powerful remain protected, and the powerless are abandoned.

IV. The Economics of Disorder — How Crime Devours Livelihoods

Crime is not only a moral issue. It is an economic one.

1. The Hidden Tax on Honest People

Every theft — even a “minor” one — raises prices for everyone else.
Every act of vandalism drains community resources.
Every closed store leaves behind a void of employment and access.

In 2023 alone, American retailers lost an estimated $112 billion to organized theft and shrinkage.

This is not random chaos. It is an economic cancer.

2. Small Businesses Cannot Absorb the Impact

Large corporations close stores; small businesses close lives.
Once a neighborhood bookstore, deli, or clothing shop shutters, it rarely returns.

And with it goes the soul of the community.

3. Crime Deters Investment

People do not invest where they do not feel safe.
This accelerates blight, unemployment, and generational poverty.

We must be honest:
Crime is a form of social sabotage — not only of property, but of the future.

V. The Generational Disconnect — How Entitlement and Despair Fuel Collapse

This crisis is not only about failing systems. It is about failing guidance.

1. The Absence of Accountability in Youth Culture

A generation raised on instant gratification, infinite entertainment, and disappearing parental structures has been taught — implicitly — that feelings outweigh responsibility.

When schools lower standards to avoid “hurting self-esteem,” they rob students of competence.
When parents fear discipline, they rob children of resilience.
When society normalizes excuse-making, it normalizes failure.

2. The Rise of Learned Helplessness

Today’s young adults face:

• unprecedented economic anxiety
• declining social skills
• record-breaking rates of depression and anxiety
• academic declines so steep that some districts report less than 30% proficiency in reading and math

Without guidance, despair becomes rebellion; rebellion becomes nihilism.

3. Narcissism, Social Media, and the Collapse of Empathy

Narcissism is not vanity. It is emptiness.
It is the hunger for significance without the discipline of substance.

A society that worships performance over character creates individuals who perform morality rather than practice it.

This is fertile soil for social decay.

VI. The Spiritual Dimension — Why Crime Reflects a Soul in Crisis

Crime is the symptom, not the disease.
The disease is disconnection — from self, from purpose, from community, from spirit.

People commit harm when they feel unseen, unheard, or unvalued.
People rationalize harm when conscience is dulled by cynicism.

When spirituality is absent, ethics become optional.
When meaning is absent, destruction becomes temptation.
When hope is absent, crime becomes currency.

A soul that does not know its own worth becomes capable of anything.

VII. Technology, AI, and the New Face of Control

We are entering a paradoxical age:

• Crime is rising.
• Yet surveillance is expanding.
• Freedom is shrinking.
• Yet law enforcement is weakening.

This contradiction is not accidental.

1. AI Predictive Policing — Promise and Peril

Algorithms can identify crime patterns faster than humans.
But they can also encode bias, magnify profiling, and strip communities of dignity.

2. Surveillance Culture — Safety or Subjugation?

Every smartphone is a tracking device.
Every camera captures behavior.
Every data point is stored indefinitely.

Yet even with unprecedented surveillance, crime grows.

Why?
Because surveillance cannot replace accountability.
Data cannot substitute for morality.

3. The Danger of Technocratic Justice

Justice without humanity becomes punishment.
Justice without discernment becomes tyranny.
Justice without compassion becomes cruelty.

We must guard against a future where technology becomes judge, jury, and enforcer.

VIII. Legislative Renewal — Restoring Order, Fairness, and Justice

A moral society needs compassionate laws — but also enforced laws.

1. Restore prosecution for misdemeanor crimes

Theft, vandalism, and assault must carry real consequences.

2. Rebuild community-based policing

When officers know residents, trust grows and crime drops.

3. Support small businesses with tax credits and crime-prevention grants

4. Rebalance juvenile justice

Intervention must be firm, swift, and rehabilitative — not permissive.

5. Hold prosecutors accountable

If they refuse to uphold the law, they must be removed.

6. Strengthen mental-health and addiction services

A society cannot punish its way out of despair.

7. Invest in education, apprenticeships, and purpose-building programs

A young person with meaningful direction is far less likely to commit harm.

IX. Cultural and Civic Renewal — Rebuilding the Ethical Self

Laws provide structure, but culture provides conscience.

We must:

• celebrate responsibility
• honor service
• teach ethics early
• restore rites of passage
• model empathy
• cultivate gratitude

A society that values character naturally produces safety.

X. Action Steps — What You Can Do

1. Raise expectations — of yourself, your family, and your community.
2. Support businesses that uplift local economies.
3. Mentor young people who lack guidance.
4. Engage in neighborhood watch or community councils.
5. Advocate for balanced policing — accountable but present.
6. Practice restorative ethics in daily life — honesty, reliability, compassion.
7. Vote for leaders who uphold both justice and humanity.

Conclusion — The Return to Responsibility

Every society stands on two pillars:
Love and accountability.

Love without accountability becomes indulgence.
Accountability without love becomes brutality.
But together, they produce harmony, order, and growth.

Crime is not merely the breaking of a law.
It is the breaking of a shared promise — the promise that we will treat each other with dignity.

To restore that promise, we must restore responsibility.
We must see the divine spark in every person but also demand the discipline that makes that spark meaningful.

We are capable of renewal — morally, spiritually, culturally.
But renewal begins with courage: the courage to say no to permissiveness, yes to accountability, and always to the common good.

Civilization survives not through power, but through principle.
Not through wealth, but through wisdom.
Not through punishment, but through integrity.

Let this be the moment we choose integrity.
Let this be the moment we turn decline into awakening.