When I speak of containing evil, I have in mind Saint John Paul II’s words: “I think, about all, of the historical limit Providence imposed upon the evil totalitarian systems established in the twentieth century, namely national socialism and Marxist communism.”
The twentieth century witnessed a great eruption of evil – national socialism (Nazism) in Germany and international socialism (Communism) in the Soviet Union.
Understanding a dangerous and devastating nature of these ideologies of evil is significant for the survival of humanity; existence of our nations; protection of our rights; defense religious freedom; safeguarding freedom of speech; and fight for liberty.
By signing a bill requiring high school students to learn about “evil of communism and totalitarian ideologies,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis encourages our young students to discuss “political ideologies that conflict with the principles of freedom and democracy essential to the founding principles of the United States, such as communism and totalitarianism.”
This is the best way to secure continuity of the life long commitment to the struggle for liberty by President Ronald Reagan and Saint John Paul II.
The history of mankind is the theatre of good and evil. Evil tends to prevail when good fails to materialize.
“The evil can only exist in relation to good and, in particular, in relation to God, the supreme good.” Evil grows then from the pure soil of good.
Ultimately, however, evil fails to destroy good.
Today, we face ever different forms of the ideology of evil then we did, say, during the Second World War or the Cold War; some of them are subtler and hidden, perhaps. Yet, they are eager to exploit what we hold dear: human dignity.
They invoke human rights themselves against man, family, children, and much more.
As a result, religious freedom is under fire. Faith is questioned.
Pressure is exerted by individuals, groups, institutions, and the state itself to recognize a non-traditional type of family.
Children are coerced to recognize pathology as the “new normal” and to embrace immorality.
Institutions hail abortion as a human right. Euthanasia is viewed as a viable option do deal with our sick and elderly.
Evil metastasizes and manifest itself in our daily life.
Why does that all happen? It happens because of the rejection of God and, consequently, inability to determine what is good and what is evil.
It happens because of the lack of appreciation for human life and the rejection of what constitutes us as human beings. It also happens because the human soul has become corrupted by power, money, and cheap luster. Man forgot to take care of his spiritual life, and his soul.
He rejected God as the Creator and Judge between good and evil. As Karol Wojtyła at The Jeweler’s Shop put it: “Here is the man! He is not transparent and he is not monumental and he is not simple, rather poor.”
I have had personal experience of ideology of evil, Communism. We were swallowed up in an eruption of evil but most of us realized its true nature.
I repeat after John Paul II who said in Memory and Identity: “If I have to underline the limit imposed upon evil in European history, I must conclude that the limit is constituted by good – the Divine good and the human good that have been reveled in that history, over the course of the last century and of entire millennia.”
Does there exist a threshold that evil is unable to cross? Yes, it does.
According to Saint Paul, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom 12:21). That means that we have to respond by a great good to any manifestation of evil.
Good has its foundation in God. Only God is the fount of good. When we partake in Him, we acquire good.
The limit imposed upon evil by God entered history through the work of Christ. Therefore, it is not possible to separate Christ either from man or history - his dignity, his vocation, or what his final ends is – nor the history of nation.
It is not possible to separate God from the United States of America’s history.
It is impossible without Christ to understand this great “Nation Under God” with its past so full of splendor and also terrible experiences. It is impossible to understand the intention of Finding Fathers who fought for freedom of this country.
It is impossible to understand – without God - what the “land of the free and the home of the brave” is.
I say again, it is impossible to separate God from the history of this country. “Only in him, in fact, can all nations and all humanity “cross the threshold of hope”!”
In 1979, Pope John Paul II told his fellow Poles: “Let your Spirit descend. And renew the face of the earth, the face of this land.”
And it sure did. Freedom resulted in Poland and across the world with the downfall of the Soviet Union not long after.
America, keep fighting for your freedom. And that is the meaning of Fourth of July!
Monika Jablonska is an author of "Wind from Heaven: John Paul II, The Poet Who Became Pope." Her next book on Saint John Paul II is forthcoming in 2021. She is a lawyer and a literary scholar living in Washington D.C. Read Monika's Reports — More Here.