Tuesday, July 21, 2020
The Left Stays Silent As Churches Attacked
I have been struck by the silence of many on the left, including most of the media, amid a rash of attacks against Catholic churches over the last 10 days.
Catholic churches across the country have been targets of arson, vandalism and destruction of religious statues. Most recently, a satanic symbol was painted on the door of a historic church in New Haven, Connecticut.
Earlier in San Gabriel, California, a fire gutted the interior of the centuries-old San Gabriel Mission Church. And in Ocala, Florida, a man crashed a minivan through the front door of a conservative Catholic church, then lit the interior ablaze while parishioners prepared for morning Mass.
With each attack, it’s becoming clearer that the verbal threats of far-left protestors in recent weeks against churches were more than empty words. They were a call to destructive action.
As a commissioner on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), I have tried to draw attention to the danger that attacks on places of worship pose to the future of the society where such attacks take place.
Now, sadly, we are experiencing them here. Attacks on places of worship are often precursors to attacks on worshippers themselves. But other than conservative and local outlets, the media have largely ignored them. Shame on those who have remained silent.
Evangelical churches don’t appear to have been targeted, at least not yet. But they have been in the past. So have synagogues.
So, don’t be deceived. The radical forces that have been unleashed will come after all of us unless they are stopped. Men and women of faith must remember the wise words of Ben Franklin, who said that if we don’t hang together, most assuredly, we will all hang separately.
How Radical Is Today’s Left?
The answer: “Very radical.”
A recent Washington Post poll on police, U.S. history, and related issues was revealing. Among other things, it found:
1. By 55% to 40%, the public does not want to reduce funding for police departments. Some 84% of conservatives, 53% of independents and 48% of Hispanics opposed cuts. But 59% of liberals want to cut police funding.
2. By 52% to 43%, Americans oppose removing statues honoring confederate generals. That includes 80% of conservatives, 56% of independents, and 60% of whites. In contrast, 74% of liberals want the statues removed.
3. Similar large majorities of the public opposed racial reparations and taking down statues of U.S. presidents/Founding Fathers who owned slaves. The liberals were on the wrong side of these issues too, but the Post did not provide the exact numbers.