The P’nut Factor

Over the weekend, the internet was ablaze with posts about a squirrel in a cowboy hat. Even big names and political players like Elon Musk and Donald Trump Jr. were posting about “P’nut.” For those unfamiliar with the story, New Yorker Mark Longo adopted an orphaned squirrel named P’nut seven years ago, along with a raccoon named Fred. The squirrel and raccoon quickly became popular on social media sites like Instagram and TikTok, garnering a decent-sized following. Longo subsequently opened an animal sanctuary and rescue operation, inspired by taking care of P’nut. Last week, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation raided Longo’s home and euthanized both P’nut and Fred.

I’ll admit that maybe four years ago this story would have barely registered with me. I am repulsed by the trend of young adults treating their pets like children, while simultaneously avoiding children through contraception or, when that fails, actually killing their children on the altar of abortion. Of course, Longo actually founded an organization devoted to taking care of wounded animals, which is not quite the same. 

But, four years ago, I probably would have skimmed the headline and lumped it in with the treating-animals-like-children trend, without looking any further into the story. The firestorm of memes and eulogies unleashed on social media over the weekend would have been almost unintelligible to me. As I say, that would have been the case four years ago. Now, however, I find myself one of the voices crying out: “Justice for P’nut!” (RELATED: Peanut the Squirrel and the Coercive State)

Their deaths were tragic and, honestly, unnecessary, but they have not been for naught. Their deaths have viscerally and publicly exposed the petty bureaucracy, invasive virtue-signaling, and moral hypocrisy of the Left. In the America of the Democratic Party, children are raped and killed by grown adults who entered the country illegally and have been given free cell phones and preloaded debit cards as a reward for their crimes. The Democratic Party insists that these rapists and murderers are just as American as you, even though your ancestors pioneered every frontier and tamed every wilderness, instead of showing up to a fully developed nation and raping children while demanding handouts.

In the America of the Democratic Party, military veteran Daniel Penny is arrested and prosecuted for daring to protect his fellow Americans from a crazed homeless man threatening others with death. Masculinity is demonized, because what the hell even is a man or a woman? Doug Emhoff and Tim Walz are lauded as paragons of manhood, even though the former allegedly beat his girlfriend and the latter is one of the most clearly effeminate men to ever pursue the office of vice president. (READ MORE: Tim Walz Is the Embodiment of Oddity)

In the America of the Democratic Party, voters who dare to confront and attempt to solve the most pressing issues of the day are smeared as “garbage” and “Nazis.” A man who puts his life on the line for the love of his country is reviled as “Hitler.” But men who mutilate their own genitals and dress up as the ugliest women you’ve ever seen are hailed as stunning and brave. Twenty-year-olds who burn the American flag and call for death to a nation they’ve never been to are praised as free thinkers.

In the America of the Democratic Party, a grown adult who stabs a three-year-old child to death is sent to a hospital instead of the electric chair. Those who break our laws and enter the country illegally are treated to American hotel rooms instead of deportation centers. But raising an orphaned squirrel warrants a police raid and the execution of your pets. It’s true, they’re not just eating the dogs, they’re not just eating the cats, now they’re killing the squirrels.

The deaths of P’nut and Fred are the perfect encapsulation of an America ruled by the petty bureaucracy, invasive virtue-signaling, and moral hypocrisy of the political Left. It’s a tragic but emotionally potent reminder for voters ahead of Tuesday’s election. Before heading into the voting booth, Americans need to be asking, “If the state will raid my home to take my squirrel, what would they do to take my Bible? My rosary? Or, God forbid, my children?” Do not let P’nut’s and Fred’s deaths be just another tragedy. Let it be the final push America needs.

READ MORE from S.A. McCarthy:

Kamala Harris’s Anti-Catholic Bigotry on Display

Cardinal Burke Offers Guidance for Catholic Voters

Trump, McDonald’s, and the Lost Art of Noblesse Oblige

The post The P’nut Factor appeared first on The American Spectator | USA News and Politics.