Catholic League president Bill Donohue explains why Charles Manson was more than just a crazed hippie:
To understand Charles Manson, we need to acknowledge his affinity with postmodernist intellectuals. For example, Manson, along with Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault, all denied the existence of truth. In all three cases, they used their nihilism to justify their support for, or practice of, nihilistic behavior.
Vincent Bugliosi, author of the most authoritative account on Manson, asked him to comment on right and wrong, and then expressed the sentiments of his subject. “He believed you could do no wrong, no bad. Everything was good.”
Like Manson, Derrida and Foucault said there were no moral absolutes, and indeed they contended that “facts” do not exist. All that exists is merely an “interpretation” of reality.
Manson was a mass murderer. Derrida sought to eliminate all laws on sex between adults and minors. Foucault justified rape and intentionally gave AIDS to unsuspecting partners.
When a Christian acts like Manson, Derrida, or Foucault, he is expressly violating the tenets of Christianity. The difference is that Manson, Derrida, and Foucault were all compliant with the tenets of postmodernism.
Sometimes, what you see is what you get. Alternatively, it’s what happens when postmodernism triumphs over Christianity.
