The New York mayoral race is uninspiring in many respects, but perhaps most of all in terms of the almost complete absence of spirituality exhibited in the campaign.  With the exception of Curtis Sliwa, who speaks of the need for security for families and members of all faiths, no candidate has even hinted at the crucial importance of religious freedom and spirituality in general.

Subsidized groceries, state-run daycare, free transit, rent-controlled housing markets — none of this has anything to do the most important aspect of human existence: faith in God and faith in the goodness of Creation.  Absent that faith, as our Founders knew so well, nothing the State does can rescue society from moral anarchy — and anarchy is already on display in New York, where one is essentially free (technically “petit larceny”) to steal up to $750 of goods from law-abiding merchants.  And where, soon, complaints of assault may not even be responded to and where those charged with crime are already set free without bail.

New York is becoming a spiritual jungle, and the proof lies in the fact that the leading candidate in the mayoral race is one who seems to appeal to the worst and least spiritual instincts of the voters. Aside from trying to buy votes with every sort of giveaway—paid for at the expense of others who have worked hard to achieve success—Zohran Mamdani has often spoken in terms that appear antisemitic.  Even in the recent mayoral debate, Mamdani refused to withdraw his “globalize the intifada” remarks and refused to call on Hamas to hand over its weapons.

In the past few years, antisemitic attacks in the U.S. have risen dramatically, and if one were to follow the Democrat-Socialist platform of defunding the police and emptying the jails, there would be no protection for Jews or for anyone else.  (Mamdani’s Democrat-Socialist platform also speaks of Israel’s “genocide in Gaza,” putting “the largest corporations under public ownership,” and of living standards “exploited by the Christian nationalist right.”  None of this is particularly magnanimous.)  Read the Democrat-Socialist platform: It is frightening.

As I see it, the left has become so infected with antisemitism that it has, figuratively speaking, pinned Jews with the Yellow Triangle that once identified them as objects of hate and physical assault.  As Jewish college students are threatened and harassed and endowments divested of Israeli holdings, America is just one step away from its own Kristallnacht, on which Jews by the thousands were assaulted in the streets, businesses vandalized, and synagogues burned. 

Antisemitism should never, ever be allowed to arise in this country, and yet it has risen, and politicians on the left, who should be defending Jews and members of all faiths, stand silent as the verbal and physical attacks mount.  There is nothing more un-American than the violation of religious  freedom, and yet one candidate in the New York mayoral race appears to be appealing to those who speak of destroying Israel.

Make no mistake: Antisemitism is just the beginning for the left.  First they come for the Jews.  Then it is the Christians, the whites, the heterosexuals, the affluent and educated of all races.  What is emerging is a future that should be familiar to anyone who has studied the history of the Nazis or of Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.  Do not believe that you are safe from it.

The broader, underlying problem is that materialism is the guiding principle of the left in America, as it has been for all Marxist movements in the past.  If one believes that mankind is guided by materialism alone, then politics comes down solely to the question of who exploits whom.  Mamdani speaks every day in these terms.  He offers “affordability” and free benefits to the masses at the expense of “the rich,” as if the rich deserve to be singled out for abuse.  Money is fungible, and it can be transferred to Florida or Tennessee along with its owners.

Even if Mamdani were to provide all the benefits he is promising (which is impossible), how much better off would New Yorkers be?

Personally, I possess very little, but I am inspired by every sunrise, delighted with my friends, happy with my life, and strong in my faith in the goodness of Creation.  Free transit or daycare would make no difference in the way I greet the sun or the pleasure I take in working out at the gym.  I have all I need, but what is truly important is my faith in life.

The ultimate value is life, which is God’s creation, next to which rent control and subsidized groceries seem unimportant.

One indication of spirituality is an acceptance of the value of human life.  Human fetuses are not to be aborted.  Human beings are not to be physically attacked because they are Jews or conservatives.  (Mamdani commented on the assassination of Charlie Kirk but linked it to a “broader climate of political violence.”  It was not a “broad climate of violence” that killed Kirk; it was the deranged action of a leftist who hated Kirk’s conservatism.)  Human life is to be defended by supporting safe streets guarded by a well funded police force.  The weak are to be protected.  Violent criminals are to be removed and punished.

It is the overriding materialism of the left that keeps its leaders from implicitly endorsing attacks and threats of attack on those they disagree with.  I do not agree with most of what Progressives have to say, but it has never occurred to me to harm them.  They too are human beings who deserve nurture and protection.  Unfortunately, many on the left do not share my view.

Mamdani, I believe, would not be good for New York.  Nor would Cuomo.  But it is not only because they would raise taxes and expand government programs.  Mamdani’s election would confirm the unfortunate truth that a majority of New Yorkers view life through the lens of materialism.  The tone of discourse in the New York mayoral race, which is already mean and crass, is a barometer of the thinking of its populace.  Once Mamdani takes office, that discourse will decline further as politicians divide up the spoils.  That will not be pleasant to watch.  Even worse will be the sanctioning of attacks on persons of faith.

Materialism is always a race to the bottom because it excludes from thought all that is redemptive and uplifting.  I have heard very little that is uplifting from the leading candidates in the New York race, and I expect even less once the winner takes office.

Jeffrey Folks is the author of many books and articles on American culture including Heartland of the Imagination (2011).

Image: Billie Grace Ward via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.