By Tom Klocek

“People who are happy or breathing easier because of the outcome of this election now own its consequences. Inflation, high gas and food prices, and an open border are likely to continue. … Maybe another two years of suffering will do it, assuming the country survives.” —Cal Thomas

How low can we go? We have transitioned from being led by the party of death to being a society of death and hate (and this is not exclusive to Democrats — there are many on the Right who support attitudes and policies destructive to families, including even abortion). Pro-life measures in several states failed this cycle while pro-abortion forces scored with the electorate. Abortion is the epitome of selfishness and therefore a hatred of all that is not self.

Hatred has become the norm in society. “It is unfortunate that hatred has become a more rapidly unifying bond among nations than love,” said Fulton Sheen. Hate is a tool of the devil. According to one report, Democrats spent more on advertising in support of abortion than McDonald’s spent on worldwide advertising last year. I have known people who, when asked why they don’t carry a child to term and then put it up for adoption, professed that they don’t want someone else to have their child (whom they were planning to kill).

What does all of this death and hate bring? Anger, violence, sadness. The party of hatred and death would have you believe that they are happy, but they are not. After all, they are in favor of killing babies, even to the moment of birth (and even beyond). They claim that their happiness depends on this “right” to “reproductive health decisions.” In order to do this, they must deny science, which has repeatedly and consistently shown that from the moment of conception this is a human being, a human life. Thus, despite their denial, they have already reproduced. The issue is no longer one of reproductive rights but homicide rights.

I have heard several stories of debates between abortionists and pro-lifers wherein the pro-lifer would declare that the issue was killing a human being and the audience would shout that it isn’t human. At this point, the abortionist would step in and state that without a doubt, it was a human being. This shows the dehumanization effect that the abortion industry has inflicted on society. This is what the Nazis did to the Jews, the Gypsies, and even Catholics leading up to and during WWII. I witnessed a similar debate in which the abortionist stated, “Yes, it is human, but not as human as the mother and therefore not deserving of protection.”

Dehumanizing one group or another is a major tactic by which one group tries to achieve or maintain control over others. You would think people, especially those who see racism in everything, would recognize this, as that was one of the original arguments for slavery. That this dehumanization has had an effect can be seen in a recent Pew Research study that indicated that only 34% of those who support abortion and answered the question, “Human life begins at conception, so a fetus is a person with rights” agreed while 65% indicated that the statement did not reflect their views. However, more than half of all who answered (56%) say they agreed with the statement “human life begins at conception, so a fetus is a person with rights." It is an effect of the divisiveness prevalent in society today, further exacerbated by government policies in the COVID non-pandemic.

In order to effect the lie and try to support it, the abortion industry denies that such things as Post Abortion Syndrome (PAS) is a real condition. Even the medical and psychiatric communities that have succumbed to the political and secular relativism of today’s society belittle, suppress, or in some cases even deny that PAS exists. This in the face of countless testimonials of women who have undergone abortions and have suffered various levels of depression, regret, guilt, and loss of a sense of self-worth ever since. These women were told that they might have a little discomfort or even mild depression for a short period but that it would quickly pass. In most cases, they continued to suffer, although not all tied their feelings to the abortion they had undergone. In my mind, this is a manifestation of our conscience, where we know deep inside the difference between right and wrong. Too many people today have muzzled their consciences, making them numb to the truth of life.

And while many see this as a women’s issue alone (many court decisions prior to overturning Roe v. Wade excluded any input from the father, whether as a spouse or just the boyfriend), there are many testimonials that the men involved suffer from remorse or guilt akin to the PAS women have reported.

As for the unhappiness of those who hate and who promote death, most secular studies have shown that those who believe in a higher being (God) and try to follow faith guidelines (e.g., the Bible, Ten Commandments, Church teaching) are generally happier, more stable, and more content with their lives. For example, a 2019 Pew Research study concluded that "people who are active in religious congregations tend to be happier and more civically engaged than either religiously unaffiliated adults or inactive members of religious groups.” Similarly, a 2021 Pew study showed that, generally speaking, family is the most important thing that makes life meaningful, with more than half of the respondents in Australia, New Zealand, Greece, and the U.S. putting family first.

So why does the party of hatred and death promote its self-destructive policies so fiercely, especially those that destroy life and the family? For one thing, misery loves company. Unfortunately, too many people today are hung up on moral relativism and don’t believe in absolute truths or absolute evil. Many don’t believe hell exists or deny the existence of the devil. Again, Pew Research reports this year: “Since the 1990s, large numbers of Americans have left Christianity to join the growing ranks of U.S. adults who describe their religious identity as atheist, agnostic or "nothing in particular.” This accelerating trend is reshaping the U.S. religious landscape, leading many people to wonder what the future of religion in America might look like. Jesus said, “Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8)

Much of the moral relativism we see today we are told is in the vein of being “broadminded,” diversity of attitudes, and welcoming of other points of view. Bishop Fulton Sheen said, “Broadmindedness, when it means indifference to right and wrong, eventually ends up in a hatred of what is right.” This is a characteristic of a hedonist society where lust and pleasure take precedence over God and truth. We see this everyday where people celebrate intrinsic evils while suppressing truths that would be beneficial to society and well-being. Government is supposed to support and seek the common good, yet today many governments seek destructive policies that increase suffering and decline.

Obviously, from the results of the midterm elections and various referenda, the bottom is still far below us. England during the reign of Henry VIII was disastrous, especially to the Catholic population. It took 300 years for them to get so low that the monarchy and the government finally came to their senses and began to treat Catholics as humans. In some ways, the Protestant Reformation in England was more devastating than the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution (and lasted much longer). And yet, eventually the tide turned. We should hope and pray that the tide will turn here, as well, and common sense will return. If it doesn’t, our 246-year American Republic experiment will come to an end.

So how do we get out of this downward spiral? William Durnall, in The Christian in Complete Armour, tells us, “Thus Satan leads poor creatures down into the depths of sin by winding stairs, that let them not see the bottom whither they are going.” We need to return to God to get out of this death spiral. We cannot do it ourselves. Only with the grace of God will we begin to see the light. Right now it is very dark. As St. John said: “Men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed” (John 3:19-20). “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord that he may have mercy on him” (Isaiah 55:7). I’m not sure that we all need to put on sackcloth and ashes, but we certainly need to return to God or the bottom will hit us hard very soon. And it won’t be pretty.