June 11, 2009

The shooting and murder of a security guard at Washington’s Holocaust Museum is another reminder of the depths of hatred that exist in the world.  James W. Von Brunn, 88, walked into the museum with a shotgun and before anyone could react, allegedly shot and killed 39-year-old Stephen Johns. Other guards quickly shot Von Brunn, who was critically wounded.

Von Brunn was well-known to those who monitor hate groups, though he was a loner. He had a Web site on which he railed against Jews and African Americans, accusing them of responsibility for virtually all the world’s problems. It is difficult to defend against a single-minded hater intent on murder. It was the same when the abortionist George Tiller was shot and killed in his Wichita church last Sunday.

Jesus said it isn’t what goes into a person that defiles him, but what comes out of his heart. Von Brunn had a heart full of hate and on Wednesday that hate boiled over and destroyed a young life and wounded his family.

Those who remain convinced that man is basically good are confronted with just the latest in a long list of examples that prove otherwise.

Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C.