The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same
Disturbing news, “Over half of all confirmed hate crimes in New York City in the first quarter of 2026 were antisemitic in nature, New York Police Department Commissioner Jessica Tisch confirmed in a press conference this weekend. Confirmed hate crimes rose overall city-wide by 11.7 percent this quarter, with 55% of them confirmed identified as antisemitic (78 out of 143 crimes), despite Jews making up only approximately 10% of NYC’s population, Tisch added.” WOW!
I am no lawyer, but I have never been a fan of the idea of “hate crime.” Crime is crime and a particular motivation does not make it better or worse. Such law also comes dangerously close to policing thought. But all that aside, that antisemitism is now the primary source of such crimes is truly disturbing.
The modern iteration of hate crime laws were adopted to deal with crimes against homosexuals during the Obama years, but their roots are in laws to prevent lynching and other such violent acts against people of color. Viewed historically in this fashion, what we see here is that hate seems to always find an outlet. Either we hate the blacks or we hate the gays or we hate the Jews, but it seems like we always hate somebody. Makes you wonder who is next. Trying to write laws to contain this just seems like trying to hold jello with rubber bands.
Law has limits. Isn’t that what we just celebrated with Easter? God had spent centuries trying to use law to enforce His view of how the world should work. Even He could not make that approach work in just one small nation among many. Why do we think we can do better? In Christ, His death and resurrection, God tried a different approach, and approach that sought not to regulate behavior, but an approach that sought to transform people. When the transformation as complete peoples would behave naturally as they ought, rendering law unnecessary.
Many of the Founders were not conventionally Christian, but I do think they all understood this fundamental fact of humanity – that misbehavior is inevitable. Hence they minimized government in an effort to let non-governmental forces work to change people, because all government can do is restrict behavior.
Yet here we are – two-and-one-half centuries later and while slavery is now gone – racial prejudice still commands much of our attention. Clearly we have failed to fulfill the promise of both our national founding and the ministry of Jesus Christ.
Celebrating the nation’s 250th anniversary approaches – rapidly. I am old enough to remember the Bicentennial and all the hoopla that went with it. By comparison, this celebration, fifty years later is quite tame – more marketing opportunity than genuine celebration. That fact saddens me, but it also creates an opportunity. This Semiquincentennial, perhaps the best way to honor our founding is to restore that vision of minimal government and maximum character.
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