The Age of Therapeutic Rage
By Sean Evans, Chair and Professor of Political Science
Dec 24, 2025 -
After the murder of Charlie Kirk, conservatives were outraged at social media posts celebrating or justifying his death. Many demanded that those who wrote those words be fired. This week, President Trump made a similar outrageous Truth Social post after the murder of Hollywood Director Rob Reiner and his wife. Trump appropriately received bipartisan condemnation. The larger question is: Why do people post such horrible things in the first place?
I grew up being taught “Do not speak ill of the dead.” Behind this rule are important virtues, such as charity, self-restraint, empathy, and humility. Charity leads us to give the best possible interpretation of people’s actions. We realize that people are imperfect and that God and history will hold them accountable for their lives. Since we can no longer persuade the dead to change, we recognize their humanity and restrain ourselves from seeking verbal vengeance.
Death promotes empathy because we know what it is like to lose a loved one. Often, family members are in shock and may experience a range of emotions, including sadness, anger, loneliness, and more. Understanding this, we do not want to burden them more by reviewing their loved ones’ failings. Thus, we extend sympathy to the deceased’s family because they deserve our sorrow, especially after a tragic murder, rather than our scorn.
It promotes humility because we know that we will also die. While we treat others fairly in death because we wish similar treatment, death also leads to self-reflection. We think less about the things we accomplished in life and more about the kinds of people we are. We honor love, integrity, faithfulness, courage, temperance, kindness, justness, and other virtues. When we consider these values, we reflect on our character, recognizing where we may fall short and how we can improve. Death, in short, can bring about renewal.
However, the moral foundations of this perspective have been challenged. For decades, the left has sought to liberate individuals from the formative institutions of society, such as family, church, and education, that promote a transcendent purpose and morality. They see these institutions as oppressive because they seek to constrain various expressions of our self-conceptions or identities. The result is a therapeutic culture that seeks personal well-being and authenticity instead of virtue or salvation. Now, we see ourselves as the ultimate authority and demand that culture affirm our choices.
When we remove societal and moral restraints, our emotions dominate our reasoning. When we or our views are attacked, we no longer agree to disagree because the criticism injures our personal identity. Instead, we swiftly express judgment in the form of inappropriate social media posts or comments as a form of what Olga Dietlin calls “Therapeutic Rage.”
We can see this in President Trump’s post. Since Reiner opposed Trump’s policies, Trump interpreted opposition personally, attributed it to anger at Trump’s success, and claimed Reiner’s anger drove people crazy, implicitly suggesting the Reiners’ political views contributed to their deaths.
Most people are abhorred by the tragedy of a son allegedly stabbing his parents. Trump, like the Charlie Kirk attackers, allowed emotion to trump reason and posted their views because their opponents did not affirm them. So, they affirmed themselves and their views in their disgusting posts.
In normal society, we would avoid these individuals and hope they repent. However, we cannot ignore the president, who proved again that he is not a good and decent person. He determines good and evil based on whether someone flatters or criticizes him, not a transcendent source. Since character is destiny, his presidency is unlikely to end well, because his pride and arrogance will cause him to make poor decisions.
In the meantime, we can start the daily work of repairing our culture by recommitting to our formative institutions, strengthening our families, serving our community, and being good citizens. As J.R.R. Tolkien wrote, “Some believe it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. It is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay.”
Submitted to The Jackson Sun Dec. 17