We Must Return to a Culture That Sanctifies Life

I am a neurologist, a mother—and a proud Jew. That phrase alone, for too many in today’s world, might seem offensive, controversial, or even dangerous. And that is precisely the problem.

In a society obsessed with identity politics focused on immutable characteristics, we have lost our grip on individual dignity. We have stopped seeing each other as human beings. We label and dismiss, rather than listen and relate. This is dehumanization masquerading as progress.

But I am not a checkbox on a DEI form. I am a person. My dignity matters. Yours does too.

Last month, I attended a unity dinner where I sat beside a Muslim who had left Islam to become a Christian, and an atheist who had rediscovered her soul through Judaism and found Christianity. Despite vastly different paths, our shared conviction was simple: human life is sacred. That is the heartbeat of the Judeo-Christian love culture—one that believes in repentance, forgiveness, and redemption.

This ethic—of life before death, of conscience over coercion—is not shared by all worldviews. Death cults do exist. They exist where honor killings are revered. Where children are taught that "might makes right" and where martyrdom is glorified above mercy. It is morally incoherent to pretend such ideologies are equal to cultures that cherish the sanctity of life. Cultural relativism has become a polite smokescreen for moral cowardice. Just like eugenics, it must be rejected.

Truth is twisted until innocence becomes guilt. The world has so manipulated language that up is down, victim is perpetrator, and life is cheap—if it's the “wrong” life.

Terms like "justice" and "equity" are perverted, not to foster genuine fairness, but to justify retribution and demonize dissent. This linguistic alchemy, coupled with an appeal to raw emotion, short-circuits our higher cognitive functions. It plunges us into a reactive state where critical thought is suspended, and the moral lines defining individual dignity become dangerously blurred. We find ourselves abandoning our core values just to secure a place within the "in-group," even as we inflict profound moral injury upon ourselves and others.

So how do we move forward?

We cannot fight dehumanization by mirroring it. We must transcend it. This is where Empowered Humanity Theory (EHT) offers a real path forward. EHT illuminates how our brains are designed to thrive when our actions align with our deepest values.

Developed by Jason Littlefield, EHT is built on timeless principles: individual sovereignty, resilient emotional regulation, and shared humanity. These are not political talking points; they are the antidote to ideological extremism.

We humans, for all our sophisticated thought, are fundamentally wired with primitive reflexes. These ancient survival mechanisms, residing in the most archaic parts of our brains, are easily triggered by fear. When confronted with perceived threats – whether real or cunningly manufactured – our fight, flight, or freeze responses take over, sidelining our rational judgment by eliminating the space between stimulus and response.

• Individual sovereignty reminds us that no one should be reduced to their identity group. You are not your skin color, sex, or religion. You are a person, first and always.

• Resilient emotional regulation means we must learn to manage our pain, not weaponize it. It teaches us to respond with strength and clarity, not with outrage or vengeance.

• Shared humanity calls us to reject tribalism and to see the dignity in every person—even those with whom we profoundly disagree.

If we want a society that heals rather than harms, we must embrace the EHT framework.

EHT's Value-Centered Identity reaffirms that our worth is defined by integrity and principles, not by societal impositions or fleeting emotions. Neuroscientific research confirms this: neuroplasticity shows that value-driven actions physically strengthen neural pathways that reinforce purpose, and studies demonstrate that living aligned with personal values enhances both cognitive function and emotional regulation.

Neuroimaging shows that Socratic questioning reduces activity in the amygdala – our brain's alarm system – while enhancing connectivity in the prefrontal cortex, promoting logical and compassionate responses. Compassion meditation literally rewires neural circuits for improved emotional regulation, and mindfulness transforms judgment, leading to more thoughtful engagements.

The prescription is clear: Reject collective reductionism. Embrace individual dignity. Regulate your emotions, not others. And see humanity in every face.

We live in a time where language is twisted, achievement is suspect, and individual life is cheapened. But it doesn’t have to be this way. We don’t need a new ideology. We need to remember who we are as human beings.

The soul of our civilization depends on our ability to sanctify life again.