Monsters Among Us: Ideological Zealotry, Moral Cowardice, Corruption, and Malice.

Agonia | 2026 GN

A Reflection on Destructive Behaviours in Public Life

Every society must contend not only with external threats but with the quieter, more insidious dangers that arise from within. These dangers are not mythical beasts or supernatural forces; they are patterns of behaviour—ideological zealotry, moral cowardice, corruption, and malice—that can hollow out institutions and erode the dignity of ordinary citizens. The “monsters among us” are not defined by identity but by the choices individuals make when they place power, ideology, or personal gain above the common good.

One form of destructive behaviour emerges when ideological movements seek to reshape society through coercion rather than persuasion. History offers sobering examples. Under Joseph Stalin, the Soviet state pursued policies that led to mass repression, engineered famine, and the silencing of dissent—actions widely condemned by historians as monstrous in scale and consequence. These behaviours illustrate how ideological certainty, when fused with state power, can become a tool for societal devastation.

At the heart of the argument is a classical insight: evil is parasitic. It does not create; it corrupts. When individuals elevate ideology, ambition, or personal gain above truth and charity, they deform their own moral agency. Stalin’s reign of terror illustrates this with chilling clarity. He chose to subordinate human dignity to ideological absolutism. The tens of millions who suffered under his rule reveal what happens when a leader treats persons as instruments rather than ends.

Monstrum vel prodigium

The moral danger posed by destructive actors in public life is not merely political or cultural; it is fundamentally anthropological. It concerns what human beings become when they abandon the virtues that make communal life possible. The true monstrosity lies not in identity but in the deliberate rejection of moral responsibility—an inward deformation that manifests outwardly in policies, rhetoric, and actions that wound the common good. While public policy inevitably involves trade‑offs, too many contemporary powerbrokers have advanced initiatives that disregard human limits, parental rights, or community norms.

Institutional actors can become morally compromised when political optics eclipse the duty of care.

This same moral pattern appears, in smaller but still consequential ways, when contemporary officials impose sweeping cultural or bureaucratic directives without regard for the vulnerable. Institutional actors can become morally compromised when political optics eclipse the duty of care. The controversy surrounding certain education officials in the United States—such as former Loudoun County superintendent Scott Ziegler, who was fired after investigations into mishandled student safety concerns—demonstrates how institutional actors can lose sight of the people they are meant to serve. The issue is the willingness to sacrifice human wellbeing for political positioning. The monstrosity here is not ideological difference but the betrayal of stewardship.

Corruption represents another perennial threat. When politicians treat public office as a pathway to personal enrichment, they betray the trust that sustains democratic life. Rod Blagojevich’s attempt to sell a Senate seat was not merely a legal violation; it was a repudiation of the very concept of public office. In Aristotelian terms, he ceased to act as a politēs—a citizen oriented toward the common good—and instead embraced the role of a private profiteer cloaked in public authority. Corruption is monstrous because it hollows out the moral architecture of civic trust.

Even seemingly small acts of wrongdoing—such as malicious gossip—can have monstrous effects. When public figures amplify unverified claims or sensationalized narratives, they weaponize speech against the dignity of others. Gossip is a small monster, but a real one: it destroys reputations, foments division, and rewards recklessness over truth.

Radicalize the victims → Destabilize everything → Manufacture crises → Normalize tyranny. 

In chaotic periods, psychopaths, sociopaths, and the deeply disordered climb institutions with their unrivalled gift for lying, manipulating, and destroying. — Liam DeBoer

The true monsters among us are not defined by political labels but by the abandonment of moral responsibility. Societies remain healthy only when citizens and leaders alike resist the temptations of ideological absolutism, bureaucratic indifference, corruption, and reckless speech. To confront these dangers, we must cultivate vigilance, humility, and a commitment to truth—virtues that keep human dignity at the centre of public life.

How many willing participants have contributed to the decline of social institutions like schools and governments, the erosion of reason, and the corruption of hearts and minds, leading to the destruction of innocence? For the unrepentant, hell awaits.

The antidote is not counter‑ideology but virtue: prudence, justice, courage, and charity.

Monstrosity arises wherever human beings willingly deform their moral agency—whether through ideological coercion, bureaucratic indifference, corruption, or malicious speech. The antidote is not counter‑ideology but virtue: prudence, justice, courage, and charity. Societies remain whole only when individuals refuse to become instruments of harm and instead commit themselves to the protection of human dignity.

• https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catholic-social-teaching/rights-and-responsibilities
• https://stmikes.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/180-Catholic-Teaching-v2.pdf

HOLY MICHAEL, Archangel, defend us in the day of battle; be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray, and do thou, Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God thrust down to hell Satan and all wicked spirits who wander through the world for the ruin of souls. Amen.