But we routinely hear this refrain: if we were just nicer to people who hate us, things would be so much better!

Horse feathers.

The present cultural malady of this society is not that we don’t have enough dinner parties. The cultural malady of this society is that large contingents of it hate God, His Church and Her ministers, and the Truth. These people will not change their minds in this regard simply because their orthodox Christian neighbors know where to find the best prosciutto or have a sophisticated nose for pairing wine.

Permit me to offer a diametrically opposed proposal: the time for being cordial has come to an end.

We have witnessed in recent months a persistent drum beat of journalists, academics, pundits, and others mouthing a shocking array of barbarisms at observant Christians (actually, let us be honest: most Christians believe nothing to which these people object much; they’re after Catholics). We see supposedly respectable people describing us as a threat to the polity, or saying that religiously motivated decision making in a commercial setting is unlawful (to take some of the rather more tame examples).

These people should not be welcome at our dinner tables, or in our living rooms or gardens, or in any other place where observant Christians congregate, while they persist in such views. To act otherwise, frankly, is to lie: it is to say that we, as Christians, regard the behavior of these people as socially permissible, that we find such people to be acceptable role models for our children, and that we are content to live in a society in which the ideas they espouse are accepted.

We would not invite into our homes an unrepentant advocate of terrorism, serial killing, rape, or the proliferation of pornography. Why should we invite there an unrepentant advocate of the extermination of Catholic institutions, the extirpation of Christian thought from public life, and laws compelling cooperation in intrinsically evil acts?

Society stands in sore need of a rejuvenated understanding of manners and social graces. But it needs a renewed conviction for the Truth much more. What it does not need is for people simply to be nice.

Also helps to explain how the disappearance of DC bi-partisan dinners parties with spouses has contributed to partisan rancor.

There’s also no one there watching us. We are face to face, stuck with each other, with only ourselves and each other to impress. No reblogging, no commentary, no page views; at least not until we arrive at our destination and each of us (undoubtably) recounts our passage.”

context here:

http://ordinary-gentlemen.com/blog/2012/09/falling-out-of-love-with-hate-a-placeholder/