Associated Press – Security spending for congressional and presidential campaigns has jumped fivefold over the past decade as an increasingly hostile political environment has led to escalating threats against public officials, ranging from doxing to assassination plots, according to a report released Thursday.

Federal political committees spent more than $40 million on expenses labeled as security during the 2023-24 campaign cycle, the most recent one for which data is publicly available, according to the report from the Public Service Alliance, a nonpartisan group that focuses on security for public officials.

The report did not specify which candidates spent the most on security. The tally also did not count the escalating security costs of the federal government, which includes augmented Capitol Police services for members of Congress and heightened U.S. Secret Service protection for presidential candidates, as well as former and current presidents and their families.

Human troubles and evils are prophesied to grow far worse in this age. Appalling violence, terrorism and war are escalating as human nature hurtles further out of control. After an infamous shooting where many lay slaughtered, a parent remarked, “I don’t understand this world any more.”

You can understand both this world and the cause of its troubles. Understanding human nature is the key.

All human beings possess human nature. The selfishness, rottenness, violence and terrible evils that spring from human nature have plagued the world for thousands of years. The apostle John said, “The whole world lies in wickedness” (I John 5:19). The cause of this condition lies directly at the feet of evil human nature.