A decade ago, I ran into Alan Dershowitz in the green room at Fox News, awaiting a TV interview. We exchanged some small talk, and then he said something that has stayed with me.
He said he has lived through the McCarthy years, the 1960s and so much more, but never has he seen such hatred in America as there is today. Given what we have witnessed in the past few years—most conspicuously the past few days—it’s a sure bet he would conclude that matters have only gotten worse.
What happened in New Orleans was Satanic. Planned, coordinated assaults on innocent human life—done in the name of evil—are a sign of just how much hatred has flourished. And it is not confined to New Orleans. From the Tesla car explosion outside Trump’s Hotel in Las Vegas, to New Yorkers celebrating Hamas—to say nothing of people being set on fire and pushed into subway tracks—it is clear that hatred is ubiquitous.
There are non-violent expressions of hatred that need to be checked as well.
From December 16 to December 29, the Catholic League paid for a billboard to be displayed in the vicinity of Madison, Wisconsin. It was a short statement against atheists who have tried to neuter Christmas; we chose this beltway location because Madison is home to the headquarters of Freedom From Religion Foundation, an anti-Catholic atheist organization known for its annual attacks on Christmas.
While our members were happy that we responded with vigor, we received dozens of hateful emails. Here is a short list of the remarks.
- “No one is ‘striking out’ at Christmas! Clear-thinking, non-brainwashed and non-deluded people” know better.
- “And you wonder why more and more people are calling bull**** the worthless Bible and its monstrous God who condones slavery and rape. So how are you doing with your altar boys?”
- “When was your mythical savior born? Certainly not in December.”
- “Good day to you, have a happy solstice, and hail Satan!”
- “I hope you find some peace in the coming year before you meet the devil in hell.”
- “We are celebrating Solstice before your God started leering at thirteen year olds.”
- “You are a fascist, racist, nazi organization.”
- “It’s Christians who usurped the winter solstice as part of its scheme to indoctrinate the ‘heathen pagans.’”
- “Your behavior is equal to the evangelical Christians worship of a sexual predator and felon. God has nothing to do with your business model and behavior.”
- “You really need to f***ing kill yourselves, you baby raping monsters.”
- “You don’t own winter, you child raping motherf******.”
[While writing this post, I had to stop on three occasions to notify the hotel that is catty-corner to our office building about two teenage girls who were hurling dozens of glass objects, cans, etc. from their balcony on the 34th floor onto the street below. Security finally put an end to it. Another sign of our times.]
It is impossible to reason with those imbued with such deep-seated hatred. But it is equally important that they not succeed in intimidating Catholics and other people of faith.
The year 2025 promises to be tumultuous. There are good reasons to believe, however, that our adversaries are on the defensive, and that is something that should inspire the vast majority of Americans not to give up. Evil must be confronted and defeated.
