Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the late supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, did not die of old age. The United States killed him, and that fact matters.

Iran’s regime has advertised its project for decades: repression at home, terror abroad, and “Death to America” as a rallying cry. It has crushed dissidents, jailed and killed its own people, and waged proxy war across the region — all while murdering Americans and targeting U.S. interests. Western “countermeasures” rarely stopped the bleeding. At best they slowed Tehran down. At worst, they bought the regime time, money, and legitimacy.

Much of Europe is already governed by technocratic managers, and the spirited element of the people is being shoved to the margins. That arrangement can’t last.

The predictable scolding began almost immediately. As soon as the joint operation was launched, leaders of some of America’s most important European allies — the United Kingdom, France, and Germany — urged restraint and appealed to “international law.” Even figures associated with Alternative for Germany, an anti-immigration party on the right, echoed that posture. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called for “de-escalation” and an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting, and she convened commissioners for internal deliberations.

Iran may sit far from Europe’s coastlines, but its damage doesn’t. For decades, Tehran’s destabilization has pushed drugs, terrorism, and illegal migration across borders and into Europe. The regime has executed protesters, imprisoned dissidents, funded terror proxies, and even helped fuel a war on Europe’s own continent.

Western Europe’s governing class answers that threat with a familiar reflex: convene international bodies, issue statements, and restart negotiations that have already failed. That approach has produced little more than delay. European leaders and institutions have not mounted a serious response to Iran’s campaign. In many cases, they have not mounted much of any response at all.

This procedural faith sounds alien to MAGA ears. What’s easy to forget is that it’s also alien to Europe’s own history.

Operation Epic Fury has exposed something deeper than policy disagreement. It has exposed Europe’s postwar loss of thymos.

Plato used thymos to describe “spiritedness” — the part of the soul that burns with courage, indignation, and honor. In modern terms, it’s courage disciplined by moral judgment. It isn’t frenzy or bloodlust. Properly ordered, it’s the moral force that refuses humiliation, resists the inversion of good and evil, and defends what is sacred.

Europe’s warriors of old endured lives marked by hardship: hunger, plague, invasion, civil war, and exile. Their spirits pressed deep into theology, philosophy, science, exploration, and statecraft, expanding the frontier of human knowledge. The European peoples, formed in principalities, kingdoms, and states, took control of their destiny, much as President Trump has implored the Iranian people to do.

RELATED: Do they hate Trump — or do they just hate America?

Photo by Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

European warriors made plenty of strategic blunders throughout their history, but they realized that building up forces was the key to fighting the powerful and obtaining power. At one time, nearly all of Europe underestimated Napoleon, but they did not assume that conferences alone would restrain him. Coalitions eventually formed because countering a powerful threat required a decisive response, and the Congress of Vienna only mattered because armies first checked imperial ambition.

Europe learned through blood that force underwrites order. Today, however, its leaders often speak as if procedural appeals alone can substitute for resolve.

The European Union has become an institution that manages, regulates, and adjudicates — not one that protects nations or Western civilization as a whole. The peace in postwar Europe depends on American security guarantees and nuclear deterrence rather than on institutions like the EU and the United Nations Human Rights Council.

This project’s main “success” is the coordinated dissemination of the belief that technocratic governance is a sufficient framework to sustain civilization. The decline of civil society across Europe, however, and the responses of some of its leaders to U.S. military action in Iran indicate the spurious nature of that belief.

Europe’s thymos has been effectively sedated by procedure and managed decline, but President Trump may be on his way to reviving it.

International law is not self-enforcing, and the international system depends upon sovereign states willing to act. Absent enforcement, resolutions accumulate into a paper fortification. The Islamic Republic has endured decades of censure from international bodies while expanding its influence and repressing its citizens. The U.N. Human Rights Council, for instance, puts its faith in strongly worded letters that have failed to achieve any positive outcome for Europe.

By contrast, America’s Operation Epic Fury rests upon a simple premise: Regimes that kill Americans, arm proxies, launder narcotics revenue, and pursue nuclear capability cannot be indefinitely managed by elegantly crafted communiqués.

Crucially, the U.S. strikes are targeting the ideological Islamist infrastructure in Iran, a problem that Europe has struggled to confront within its own borders.

In parts of Western Europe, the rise of leftist and Islamist coalitions is undeniable. In the U.K. and elsewhere, such demographic realities are almost certainly why the ayatollah’s death is being mourned instead of being celebrated. Last weekend, after news of Khamenei’s death broke, former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn joined hundreds of pro-Iran protesters in London carrying banners of the ayatollah.

Europe’s decision to throw open its doors to mass migration in 2015 signaled more than a policy preference. It revealed a self-conception: Europe increasingly sees itself as an economic zone, not a civilization with borders and obligations. In that worldview, spirited self-preservation becomes morally suspect. A continent that won’t defend itself can’t credibly lecture America about saving others — or help America do it.

Americans shouldn’t expect allies to endorse every U.S. action without question. Friendship doesn’t require cheerleading. It does require moral seriousness. Europe’s leaders shouldn’t treat righteous indignation at injustice as “extremism,” and they shouldn’t confuse decisive action with warmongering or reckless escalation.

A civilization that suppresses thymos will not endure. Much of Europe is already governed by technocratic managers, and the spirited element of the people is being shoved to the margins. That arrangement can’t last.

RELATED: ‘Boots on the ground’ would turn Iran into Iraq on steroids

Photo by Scott Peterson/Getty Images

Under President Trump, the United States retains, however imperfectly, a measure of civilizational confidence. We still believe that sovereignty, national defense, and the protection of citizens are legitimate goods. Europe’s thymos has been effectively sedated by procedure and managed decline, but President Trump may be on his way to reviving it.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte voiced support for the strikes on Iran, declaring that key allies stand “all for one, one for all” amid our adversary’s widening missile retaliation. Such language hints at a remembered instinct — an older European reflex of solidarity not as bureaucratic coordination but as shared resolve and the will to act. There are also glimmers of hope in last Sunday’s E3 statement, in which Britain, France, and Germany said they were ready to take steps to defend their interests in the region.

Operation Epic Fury will be debated for years to come in the language of strategy and geopolitics. But beneath those arguments lies a more enduring question about the character of civilizations: Do they still believe that evil should be confronted? Do they still possess the spirited confidence that is required when words have failed?

Europe’s history is not one of defaulting to procedure. It is a civilizational resolve formed through centuries of trial. The same continent that produced parliaments and cathedrals also produced men willing to stand at Vienna’s gates and refuse surrender. Its Christianity did not preach passivity before tyranny. It taught that love may demand resistance.

Praising Athens’ war against Sparta, Pericles famously said:

For we are lovers of the beautiful in our tastes and our strength lies, in our opinion, not in deliberation and discussion, but that knowledge which is gained by discussion preparatory to action. For we have a peculiar power of thinking before we act, and of acting, too, whereas other men are courageous from ignorance but hesitate upon reflection. And they are surely to be esteemed the bravest spirits who, having the clearest sense both of the pains and pleasures of life, do not on that account shrink from danger.

Europe must choose whether it will regain its strength or allow the civilization it built to disappear forever.

Editor’s note: A version of this article appeared originally at the American Mind.

​Iran, Trump, Operation epic fury, Europe, Eu, Afd, Thymos, Maga, Western civilization, European decline, Pericles, Opinion & analysis, Nato, France, Germany, Iran war 

When BlazeTV host Steve Deace was asked to be part of the America Reads the Bible initiative, his answer was an emphatic yes.

For those who aren’t aware, America Reads the Bible is a week-long event where national leaders from every sphere of influence will read the entire Bible aloud continuously from Genesis to Revelation at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., from April 18-25, to reignite America’s spiritual foundation, foster national renewal and unity through God’s Word, and celebrate the nation’s upcoming 250th anniversary of freedom.

Americans across the nation are invited to attend in person or tune in via livestream as Candace Cameron Bure, Patricia Heaton, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R), evangelist Franklin Graham, Steve Deace, and many others read the sacred Word of God aloud over our nation.

On a recent episode of the “Steve Deace Show,” Deace sat down with the fearless leader behind America Reads the Bible, Bunni Pounds, to explain the vision behind this historic event.

Bunni tells Steve that the idea for America Reads the Bible sprouted after she had “an encounter with the Lord” when she was visiting the Museum of the Bible.

“I had this thought after writing a book on Nehemiah that’s going to be coming out in May: We need an Ezra moment in this country because we have a leadership crisis.”

In the book of Nehemiah, Ezra, a Jewish scribe and priest, publicly read God’s law aloud to the returned exiles, sparking revival, repentance, and renewed commitment to God, which then enabled Nehemiah to lead the people in rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls.

America Reads the Bible aims to bring that same storyline here to America.

“We need people to rise up, and if we don’t know Scripture, if we don’t go to God every day, depending on him for our wisdom and our life, Steve, we’re in trouble as a nation,” Bunni says.

“And so I thought, wouldn’t it be awesome if our national leaders from all spheres of influence, all demographics and denominations, would humble themselves and say, ‘You know, we are high-performing leaders in this country, but we love Jesus, we know we need Scripture every day just to make it, and we’re going to call the American people back to daily Bible reading and discipleship for the well-being of our country.”’

Two and a half years later, Bunni’s vision has become a reality. In just a few short weeks, America Reads the Bible will begin, and the Word of God will be broadcast all over the nation.

“Come to D.C. Bring your kids, grandkids. Be a part of our opening celebration, and you can experience the whole museum. The Dead Sea Scrolls are there while we’re there as well,” Bunni says, noting that tickets can be purchased on the website.

For those who are unable to attend in person, she encourages using the livestream option.

“Livestream in your churches, in your communities, in your family room,” Bunni urges. “Some of you have never listened or read the Bible all the way through. Maybe you’re supposed to take off work and just sit under the reading of Scripture by our national leaders all week — but mobilize, mobilize, mobilize!”

To hear more about the event, watch the interview above.

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​Steve deace, Steve deace show, Blazetv, Blaze media, America reads the bible, Bunni pounds, Spiritual crisis 

Airline etiquette has been on the decline for years, and people have doubted that air travel could ever again be a pleasant experience. However, a large airline has updated its policies, and many say that change could be a good start.

United Airlines updated its contract of carriage document late last month to include a section about audio and video content that will ensure a more peaceful — and quieter — travel experience.

‘I think we need to pack our manners whenever we go on an airplane, whenever we travel.’

United Airlines now notes in its “Refusal of Transport” section that the airline may refuse transport or permanently ban passengers who refuse to wear headphones while listening to audio and video content on a plane.

“We’ve always encouraged customers to use headphones when listening to audio content — and our Wi-Fi rules already remind customers to use headphones,” United spokesman Josh Freed said in an email to the Washington Post.

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“It seemed like a good time to make that even clearer by adding it to the contract of carriage,” Freed added.

When asked about the new policy, Florida-based etiquette expert Jacqueline Whitmore said, “It’s about time.”

“I think we need to pack our manners whenever we go on an airplane, whenever we travel. And the violators of this, ironically, are parents — parents who don’t put earbuds in their children’s ears or headsets” on them.

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​Politics, United airlines, Headphones, Contract of carriage, Airlines, Air travel, Air travel etiquette, Jacqueline whitmore, Passengers 

Last month marked five years since Rush Limbaugh’s death. Tributes still appear on schedule. Clips circulate. Familiar phrases — “talent on loan from God,” “doctor of democracy,” “half my brain tied behind my back” — resurface. Every so often his opening theme slides into a feed, and people pause longer than they expect.

That reaction says something.

Rush can’t be replaced because the habits that made him possible have largely disappeared.

When life felt unsteady, Rush stayed fixed.

For millions of Americans, his voice arrived at the same hour each afternoon as institutions shifted, headlines fractured, and the culture argued with itself. Agreement was never universal. But steadiness was.

The music still plays. Rush does not.

Five years later, the absence still feels different — in a way modern media can’t quite explain.

When talk show legend Johnny Carson retired in 1992, late-night TV didn’t disappear. It divided. Some viewers followed Jay Leno, who succeeded Carson at NBC. Others moved to CBS with David Letterman. Then the format split again, louder and more elaborate with each successor.

Late-night evolved. It never recovered the King of Late Night’s reach.

By today’s standards, Carson looks almost minimalist: a desk, a band, conversation allowed to breathe. Parents ended evenings there after the kids went to bed. The show closed the day not through spectacle but familiarity.

Rush occupied a different hour but understood his medium just as completely.

As broadcasting technology advanced and competitors added panels, simulcasts, and digital bells and whistles, Rush’s formula barely changed. Behind the golden EIB microphone sat one prepared voice, a “stack of stuff,” and three hours shaped not by focus groups but conviction.

Some days funny. Some days angry. Always patriotic. Sometimes wounded or reflective — even nostalgic.

Listeners heard it when Rush entered rehab in 2003. They heard it again when he announced his cancer diagnosis in 2020. They followed professional triumphs and personal failures, marriages that ended, and later the unexpected joy when he met Kathryn Rogers and married her in 2010. They heard the frustration and adaptation that followed the loss of his hearing.

The humanity never weakened the authority. It reinforced it.

Rush spoke from belief, and listeners found him.

He often said he never set out to build a network of hundreds of stations or reach millions of listeners. His goal was simpler: Be the best broadcaster he could be. Not an alternative. Not a counterpoint. The best at articulating what made America exceptional — and at exposing ideas that threatened it.

The audience followed.

For many people, the show unfolded alongside responsibilities that never paused for politics. For years — through hospital visits, surgical waiting rooms, doctor’s appointments, and pharmacy runs with my wife — Rush kept me company more hours than almost anyone outside my family.

He didn’t interrupt my life. He traveled alongside it.

That relationship is difficult to recreate because modern media now works in reverse. Voices don’t wait to be found; they chase attention. Commentary arrives instantly, tailored to preference and consumed in fragments measured in seconds.

Everyone now broadcasts. No one gathers.

Earlier media required commitment. If you missed Carson, you missed him. When “Seinfeld” was new, millions tuned in at the same hour because there wasn’t an alternative. The next morning’s conversations assumed a shared experience. Rush worked the same way. If you tuned away, the broadcast kept going.

Today almost nothing is truly missed. Everything can be replayed, clipped, streamed, or summarized. Convenience replaced anticipation. Access replaced commitment.

We gained availability and lost presence.

After Rush, commentary didn’t decline. It multiplied. Humor migrated here, outrage there, analysis somewhere else — across podcasts, streaming platforms, and social media personalities.

But coherence thinned.

Audiences scattered into niches large enough to sustain influence but too fragmented to create shared trust. Rush succeeded during one of the last eras when millions practiced the discipline of listening together long enough for familiarity to become confidence.

RELATED: We don’t have to live this way

Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

For conservatives especially, that steadiness mattered. As cultural institutions treated them with ridicule or dismissal, Rush spoke directly to listeners who felt talked about rather than spoken to.

He didn’t echo what people wanted to hear. He anchored them in what needed to be said. He didn’t flatter them. He reasoned with them. He laughed with them. Sometimes he challenged them.

Recognition replaced alienation.

Five years later, the lingering absence shows what was actually lost.

We didn’t lose commentary, Lord knows. We lost a shared reference point.

Rush can’t be replaced because the habits that made him possible have largely disappeared. Shared listening gave way to individualized feeds. Discipline yielded to distraction. Voices rise quickly now, but few endure long enough to be tested.

The spinning never stopped. We just lost the fixed point.

The question five years later isn’t who replaces Rush Limbaugh. He’s irreplaceable. The question is whether a culture trained to scroll still possesses the discipline to listen long enough for trust to form again.

Because Rush was never simply something Americans heard. He was something they chose.

​Rush limbaugh, Talk radio, Conservatives, Americans, King of late night, Opinion & analysis, Johnny carson, David letterman, Jay leno, Media 

Following the striking total lunar eclipse — commonly called a blood moon — that turned the moon a vivid copper red in the early hours of March 3, and amid the escalating U.S.-Israel military campaign against Iran, discussions of biblical end times prophecies are surging once again.

Given that blood moons occur roughly every 2-2.5 years, conflict involving Israel in the Middle East has persisted for decades, and the fact that Scripture clearly states that no one except God knows when Jesus will return, this kind of hysteria frustrates Jase Robertson.

“I believe the Bible — that only the Lord knows,” he says, reminding us that even Jesus himself doesn’t know the exact date of his return (Matthew 24:36).

But despite Scripture’s clarity that nobody knows when Christ will return, many professing Christians are nonetheless tempted to make grand predictions about the end of the world — sometimes down to exact day and hour.

Jase says these people are asking the wrong kinds of questions. On this episode of “Unashamed,” dives into the two wrong questions Christians should never ask about the end times — and the two right ones they should focus on instead.

The first “wrong question,” he says, is “when is it going to happen?”

“Wrong question,” he repeats, citing 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2, which reads, “Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.”

The second “wrong question” is “where are we going?”

“Wrong question,” Jase says again, reading from 1 Thessalonians 4, which shifts the focus away from location and gives Christians the only assurance they need: They will be “with the Lord.”

There are only two questions Christ-followers should be asking about the end times, says Jase.

The first is: If you do live to see the return of Christ, “who are you with?”

“This is one that’s answered. … [You’re] with Him!” he exclaims.

The second good question is: “For how long?”

“Forever,” says Jase, citing 1 Thessalonians 4:17, which promises that “we will be with the Lord forever.”

“The Bible is about who you’re with — not where you’re going and not when it’s going to happen.”

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​Unashamed, Phil robertson, Jase robertsons, Robertson family, Robertsons, Blazetv, Blaze media, End times, Blood moon, Middle east conflict