When Evil and Stupidity Celebrate Themselves for Mass Misery

Washington – You have to let this scene melt on your tongue: a group photo with wide grins, proud faces, and triumphant thumbs. In the center: a sign that reads “ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL ACT.” The faces in the room couldn’t look more pleased - as if they had just reformed the health care system, halved child poverty, or modernized the education system. But what they are actually celebrating is a historic-scale cutback.

Just an hour earlier, another Twitter post had spelled out what this “beautiful” bill means in reality: 17 million people are losing their health insurance. 18 million children are no longer entitled to school meals. 3 million Americans are losing their already meager food assistance. And Derrick Van Orden, Republican congressman from Wisconsin, comments on this with a simple, triumphant: “YES!” You don’t need to explain this cynicism – you can only document it. What once would have been considered political misconduct is now a mark of ideological purity. It is no longer about solving problems, but about shrinking the state as far as possible – even if that plunges millions into social oblivion.

The lawmakers staging themselves in the photo with thumbs up and permanent grins call it “freedom.” In reality, it is the official farewell photo of a government that has bid farewell to any form of compassion. It is a retreat from responsibility, a cold rejection of any social conscience. Those who have nothing shall suffer. Those who are hungry should serve. Those who are sick may die - preferably quietly, so the loud laughter in the chamber isn’t disturbed. What is being cheered here is not a reform. It is a failure of the state with applause. A mass robbery in tailored suits. And in the middle of it all: thumbs up - for the systematic humiliation of millions.

It is a moment that must be recorded. Not because it is special – but because it has become symptomatic. The American conservatism of 2025 has stripped itself bare. It is no longer the party of Reagan or Bush. It is a movement of moral withdrawal, of contempt, and of deliberate harm. And its representatives are celebrating themselves for it – with big signs and small hearts. One thing is certain. History will never forget these people, and they won’t like that when the time comes.