By Douglas V. Gibbs
Black Friday has ended, and it turns out it is no longer the frenzied dash through crowded aisles it once was. Increasingly, shoppers are turning to online deals, while brick-and-mortar stores scramble to lure customers back with doorbuster bargains, extended hours, and elaborate promotions. Yet, alongside the discounts, this year’s Black Friday was marred by violence – an unsettling reminder that our culture is shifting in ways that go far beyond retail.
The headlines are filled with stories of unrest, aggression, and despair. What was once an isolated incident now feels like a recurring theme, and with the recent news of National Guardsmen being shot steps away from the White House we realize that the violence is not simply about crime statistics. It reflects something deeper in our cultural fabric. It points to a generation wrestling with fear, disillusionment, and a loss of grounding.
One discussion I was recently a part of struck me. Fathers have dropped the ball. Too many sons are growing up without the steadying hand of a father, without a model of spiritual leadership, discipline, and hope. Heck, I even take some of the blame. I was very young when my wife and I married and we began having children, and I admit I wasn’t the spiritual leader I should have been. That absence, even among men who otherwise have been wonderful members of society, has multiplied across millions of families, leaving young men adrift and searching for meaning in a world that feels hostile and uncertain.
The younger generation has been told by the experts, and their teachers, and the media that the future is bleak. They are warned by false prophecies of rising seas and barren lands. The President of the United States, according to the voices in their ears, is an authoritarian leader followed by a nation full of fascists. From the point of view of these youths they will inherit a world either drowned, desolate, or ruled by Hitleric figures. But when they throw their hands in the air searching for answers and hope, they are also told that God is dead, and those who believe in him want a Christian Nationalist theocracy. With such a worldview, despair has become a natural place to go, and violence has risen partly because it is being incited by well-placed propaganda, and partly because it seems to be the only outlet for their anger and hopelessness.
If the violence we saw on this year’s Black Friday, and in 2025 in general, is a mirror of our culture, then the reflection is troubling. Deals and discounts cannot mask the deeper fractures. We need cultural renewal. As government take actions to restore law and order, fathers need to reclaim their role as men, training their children up on solid moral foundations. Pastors and Christian leaders need to become leaders in their communities, guiding and shaping the culture. Faith needs to be rediscovered. We need to understand that as the Book of Jeremiah states, our hearts are naturally wicked, and without faith we wander in directions that will lead us to grave consequences. Without a godly compass, the bargains of today will continue to be overshadowed by the violence in our stores, on our streets, and in the hearts of many who have lost their way.
If the headlines remind us of violence and despair, the Gospel reminds us of hope and responsibility. The decline we see in families, public life, and the American Culture is not irreversible. It is our responsibility, however, to stop only gathering inside the four walls of our churches and instead take action in our culture by becoming the salt and light in an otherwise dark world. Silence is destructive, as well. It is time for bold faith to reclaim ground. Put some legs on our prayers, and some action in our Worship.
Light does not need darkness to exist, and darkness cannot exist when light is present. So, rather than wallow in the darkness thinking there is no chance of coming out of it, simply light the candle and allow the flickering flame of faith chase away the doom and gloom. I believe America is on the verge of revival. We’ve seen signs of it, especially since the assassination and execution of Charlie Kirk because of what he believed. And understand, I am a firm believer that transformation doesn’t begin in Washington or Wall Street. We will never get our political or economic house in order until we get our godly house in order. We must, for the sake of ourselves, our communities, and our country live out our faith with conviction and courage, and spread that good news every chance we get.
While being present on the political stage is important, the way to regain the culture is by being in the public square and raising up the next generation with a solid godly foundation. That means fathers need to step back into their role as spiritual leaders within their home, pastors need to be leaders of their communities, believers need to refuse to retreat or hide inside the four walls of the church, and the world needs to be convinced that not only is God not dead, He is a Living God and He sits on the ultimate Throne.
Our culture is searching for meaning. God has placed inside of us the desire to seek Him out, and when we reject Him the search doesn’t stop. The search then tries to fill that void with other things, but those things never satisfy our thirst for a relationship with God. The things of the world cannot heal a broken heart of a hopeless but failed search for something meaningful in life. Only God can fill that space. Deals or violence cannot fix the problem, or satisfy one’s spiritual hunger. Revival is possible, if only we stop retreating, and start leading.
— Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
