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Without Courage, Morality Collapses
The Anti-Defamation League bows to the bullies it was built to confront

A moral line separates courage from cowardice, and America is tripping over it. Each time we trade conviction for comfort, or truth for safety, the line of morality retreats further into darkness, bringing the soul of our democracy with it.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) is the latest casualty in this struggle, where courage yielded to cowardice. Founded in 1913 to combat antisemitism and other forms of hate, the ADL built its reputation on courage, calling out extremist ideologies wherever they saw them, ignoring political pushback. The forms of extremism included hate groups, white nationalism, and conspiracy-driven movements that threaten our democracy.
One of the ADL’s most valuable tools was the “Glossary of Extremism,” a public database explaining the ideologies, organizations, and symbols associated with modern hate movements. It was a resource for educators, journalists, and law enforcement. It helped us identify and understand the language and logic of radicalization. Among its entries were groups and influencers that have become staples of America’s far-right ecosystem, including organizations such as Turning Point USA and its founder, Charlie Kirk.
When extremist right-wing commentators sympathetic to the racist cause of Turning Point discovered those listings, they launched an online smear campaign falsely claiming the ADL was labeling “mainstream conservatives” as extremists. Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X (formerly Twitter), supercharged those claims on X, accusing the ADL of “enabling hate” and calling for its dissolution. Across the internet, a wave of harassment and vitriol built to a powerful crescendo. Instead of standing firm as always, the ADL blinked. It quietly removed the entire Glossary of Extremism from its website, claiming it was “reassessing” how to present the information.
That decision was nothing short of raw cowardice.

History would be very different if cowardice ruled the day.
When confronted by the very extremists it sought to expose, the ADL chose appeasement over principle. The bullies had demanded silence—and silence is what they got. In a tragic twist of irony, the organization that once stood against the forces of bigotry allowed bigotry to dictate its actions. The ADL, apparently trying to buy peace with appeasement, only emboldened the extremists to push further.
This was entirely predictable. As most of us learned in grade school, appeasement never gets the bullies to back down; instead, it feeds them. Musk, the richest bully of all, spotted this weakness and immediately doubled down with more attacks. Even the FBI, now increasingly politicized by far-right influence, distanced itself from the ADL.
The lesson taught by the ADL? Moral authority retreats when courage yields to cowardice. The ADL’s failure mirrors a larger American pattern: the steady, fearful retreat of institutions that once defended democracy with conviction. We see it in political parties that “both-sides” hate speech, in news outlets that sanitize racism, and in civic organizations that soften their messages to placate donors. Every concession shifts the line of morality a little farther into darkness, and each retreat of courage makes it easier for the next atrocity to seem acceptable. After all, who can see the line when it’s drawn in darkness?
Eighty years ago, philosopher Karl Popper warned of this danger in his famous note on the “Tolerance Paradox,” which essentially states that if a society tolerates the intolerant, it will become intolerant overall. The same logic applies to morality. When we appease immoral behavior—when we excuse cruelty, deceit, or extremism in the name of civility—we don’t just weaken our values; we become the very forces we claim to oppose.
Fighting bullies does not mean fighting them physically. It means refusing to bend, refusing to yield the moral ground that defines civilization. Courage isn’t aggression: it’s steadfastness. It’s boldly stating the facts even in the face of danger.
The ADL could have stood firm and defended its work. Instead, it chose to manage the optics and seek appeasement. That’s not leadership; that’s capitulation. And America cannot afford more capitulation—not from its institutions, not from its leaders, and not from its citizens. The unfortunate yet predictable result is that the ADL is now disrespected by people on all sides of the political spectrum. The ADL had a chance to stand up, but they caved. Their reputation for courage will take generations to recover, if it ever does.
The moral test of our time is not whether we can avoid conflict, but whether we can face it with courage. Each time we fail that test, the moral line retreats a little farther into the darkness, dragging democracy with it.
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