While it may be expedient or comforting to declare Anders Behring Breivik to be insane—as his lawyer has, with most pundits following suit—what should really concern us is the political agenda that underlies the massacre. This is not about Breivik, the person, but about the political world from which he comes and to which he speaks, a world in which the defense of Christendom is so urgent that it must lead to violence. Breivik forces us to recognize what kind of politics of religion is taking hold in Europe.
Political ideas may be evil or despicable, even if it’s not certifiably insane people who are making them. And perfectly sane people can do horrendous things in the name of ‘freedom,’ ‘the nation,’ or ‘Christendom.’ Breivik’s atrocious acts, in fact, were a veritable 21st century media strategy.
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