Alan Dershowitz

There are still some old enough to remember Sen. Joe McCarthy, the Republican Senator from Wisconsin, when he was in his heyday. If you don’t remember him from personal experience, I hope you at least learned about him in your American History course in middle or high school. Whether you did or didn’t, I highly recommend the 2005 George Clooney and David Strathairn movie, “Good Night, and Good Luck,” that portrayes the struggle between McCarthy and television journalist Edward R. Murrow. McCarthy’s years of greatest influence were 1950 to 1954, when he was the face of anti-communism in America. Speaking to them through their black and white TV’s, McCarthy would inform the American people of the communist subversives that had infiltrated the U. S. government, the spies that the Soviet Union had sent over, who looked and acted just like you and me, but were here to destroy our way of life. He brought many before him in the Senate to question and berate them over their supposedly communist sympathies and/or their attachments to communist organizations. The reputations and careers of innocent people were destroyed. People were blacklisted from their jobs, their schools, and from society because McCarthy publicly accused them, usually with no evidence, of being a “red” or a “pinko.” McCarthy’s demise was brought about by his being censored by the Senate and by his public shaming at the hands of the attorney representing yet another of McCarthy’s targets, the United States Army.

It seems our political players have adopted some of McCarthy’s actions, because people are discriminating against others on the basis of political viewpoint. There are political viewpoints the Left and the Right don’t like, and some have no hesitation in denying service, firing from their job, or shunning from “decent” society those who adhere to the “wrong” political views. McCarthy is clearly the most egregious example on the Right, though he did his dirty deeds decades ago, but it was not long ago that the Left raised self-righteous horror over a Colorado baker who refused a commission to design a cake celebrating a same-sex wedding (the baker did offer to bake and sell the gay couple any one of the pre-designed cakes in his catalog, but balked at being asked to design a cake for a cause contrary to his Christian morals). Ditto when a florist refused to design flower arrangements for a same-sex wedding. But as soon as the shoe is on the other foot, the Left feels no shame in practicing what they so recently condemened.

Consider the case of Alan Dershowitz, the legal legend, former Harvard professor, champion of leftist causes and politics, and public defender of some pretty notorious characters. Mr. Dershowitz is no longer welcome in the homes of his neighbors on Martha’s Vineyard because of his support for President Trump. He has not been allowed to step onto the campus of his former employer, where he taught for almost fifty years, for more than a decade. I don’t know a lot about Derhowitz, so I don’t know when or how he became a supporter of Trump, but that doesn’t really matter. Dershowitz is fond of shopping at the Farmer’s Market on Martha’s Vineyard, and did so last July 30. When he came to the pierogi stand, however, he was refused service. At first, Dershowitz thought he was being discriminated against because he is Jewish (he was wearing a t-shirt that clearly identified him as a Jew). But the famed attorney soon realized that it was his political views that were at the root of his being denied service. The owner of the pierogi stand, a transperson, refused to serve Dershowitz because he recognized Dershowitz and knows that he supports Trump. The owner, who is also the pierogi chef, couldn’t handle it. Dershowitz attempted to explain that it was illegal in Massachusetts to discriminate. The pierogi punk still refused. The police were called. When the police arrived, they escorted Dershowitz away! Obviously, they cared not about the discriminatory actions of the pierogi punk, which were criminal. Dershowitz has sued the Farmer’s Market, and he’ll win. The Farmer’s Market will thus suffer financial and reputational loss because of one of their contracted vender’s intolerance. And, while Massachusetts is the bluest of blue states, still 36.5% of its voters voted for Trump in 2024. Which means, much to the pierogi chef’s chagrin, a fair number of pierogi’s were likely sold to Trump voters on July 30.

This is not the first time this has happened. Sarah Huckabee, press secretary for part of Trump’s first term, was refused service at a Red Hen restaurant in Virginia. Gianno Caldwell, a Fox News analyst, was kicked out of Paradis Books and Bread restaurant because the owner of the establishment overheard his conversation with his friends and decided she didn’t like the conservative positions he was taking. J. D. Vance was famously refused entry by the management at Primanti Bros in Pennsylvania. Vance was scheduled to make a campaign stop there, and his supporters were waiting for him inside the restaurant, but management said “NO!” So, Vance and his supporters gathered in the parking lot where he addressed them briefly. The restaurant later offered the excuse that they didn’t want to be the location for a campaign stop, but they had just prior to Vance’s stop served as the location for a Harris-Walz campaign stop.

What’s worse is losing your job over your politics. Curt Schilling, former Boston Red Sox pitcher who famously helped Boston win their first World Series in over a century, turned to sports commentary after his baseball career ended. He was fired by ESPN for remarks he made on social media inspired by his conservative views.

(Sidenote: I did not agree with Schilling being fired from ESPN in 2016 for what he wrote on social media. Years later, however, Schilling would retweet conspiracy theories that the Sandy Hooks Elementary School and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shootings were hoaxes. Schilling, despite three World Series victories, a World Series MVP, 3000+ strikeouts, and 200+ wins, was not elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. “Character” and “integrity” are listed as necessary qualifications for admission to the HOF, or at least as consideration for voters when discerning who they’re going to vote for. So, yeah, I guess a guy who spreads conspiracies about school shootings being hoaxes loses a bit on the “character” and “integrity” qualifications. Sheesh!)

Sage Steele said some things about COVID-19 and Obama that ESPN didn’t like, so they removed her from her usual airway gigs. She sued and they eventually settled. Gina Carano was famously fired from The Mandalorian series after she, too, posted comments on social media inspired by her conservative politics. Now, Carano did compare the way conservatives in the U. S. are treated to the way Nazi Germany treated Jews. Too far? Of course. But by that standard, Whoopie Goldberg should have been fired from her job on “The View” years ago. Is there a double standard? You tell me. Carano is a not-too-well known actress who crossed a line. Goldberg is one of the most successful and recognized and (I’ll admit it) beloved personalities in the entertainment industry who has crossed several lines, many of them far more egregious than the line Carano crossed. But are you gonna fire Whoopie?

Of course, it’s not just the Left who practice discrimination against those whose political views are not considered proper. 175 federal employees were added to a “watchlist” by the American Accountability Foundation, a conservative organization that hopes to influence the Trump administration to fire employees the AAF percieves as too liberal. And, indeed, some on the list have been fired. Voice of America director Michael Abromowitz was told he would be fired if he did not accept a reassignment to a lesser position. He was fired, and Abromowitz is suing the Trump administration for what he claims are the administration’s efforts to purge itself of those considered disloyal.

All of this writing about viewpoint discrimination leads me to a final, ultimate question: What kind of dumbass discriminates against one of, if not the, most famous and successful attorneys in the country? I’m having a vision of a pierogi stand being put up for auction in the not-too-distant future.

Seriously, this is a symptom of the polarization of our country along political lines. We didn’t use to be like this. Remember Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg? They disagreed on nearly everything. But outside of the Court, they were the best of friends. Why can’t we settle on all of us being Americans with different viewpoints? Now, if one person disagrees with another, they’re expected to treat them like enemies. I recall Bill Donahue, director of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, engaging in a vigorous debate with a young journalist on TV. When the dust settled, Donahue had the biggest smile on his face. He was delighted with having taken part in such a lively and important discussion, and he congratulated the young journalist for her skills and acumen. The young journalist was confused. She didn’t get it. She thought that, if you disagree with someone, you’re supposed to hate them, not compliment them for representing their side so well. But Donahue was old school (still is!), and he thought the engagment of two intelligent people broiling over an important issue was the best part of his day. I thought he won the debate, and I’m sure he did, too. Even till, he could genuinely admire someone who knew her subject and was able to defend her position. Today, that’s a lost attitude. Today, if someone is losing the debate, they don’t surrender their point. They try salvaging their position by insulting their opponant. We have to stop this. And we have to stop this not by boycotting restaurants or suing former employers. We have to stop this by reaching down and bringing up those better parts of ourselves that refuse to dismiss those who think differently than we do, or refuse to create an “enemies list” of the disloyal or politically and socially “heterodox.” For the future of our nation, we have to stop thinking that if the other guy wins, its the end of our nation. Our children will thank us for it.

For those of us who are Christians, who claim Christ and stive to live the life of the Gospel, viewpoint discrimination is not an option. All are made in the image and likeness of God, and no one surrenders that dignity by putting on a MAGA hat or wearing a BLM t-shirt. We are not to reflect the values and priorities of the world. We are not to “conform to the pattern of this world” but must be “tranformed by the renewing of [our] mind[s]” (Rm 12:1-2).

Be Christ for all. Bring Christ to all. See Christ in all.