Take the Next Exit You See

 

Last Saturday, a group of masked white supremacists and neo-Nazis marched through Little Rock, just a few blocks from the church I pastor. They stood on the sacred grounds of Central High School and marched through predominantly Black neighborhoods of my city. Clearly, this is today’s version of the KKK, both in intent and content.

Origins of a Movement

The Nazi movement was born out of German nationalism, in which people suffering through the depressing effects of post-World War I life wanted the nation of Germany to rise from the ashes to a new and bold prominence. The movement was centered on a charismatic, though deranged, figure—a “strongman” who centralized power, demonized political enemies, and built public policy out of fear, cruelty, and chaos.

The Nazi movement appealed to a feigned idyllic past in German history, turned its nose at science (especially racialized science), and created extrajudicial paramilitary forces. It sought a racially homogeneous—in their terms, “pure”—Germany and scapegoated those who did not fit the profile of the “pure”—most notably Jewish people, but also LGBTQ people, people with physical disabilities, and Roma and Slavic people.

Nazi leaders literally studied the practices, laws, and sentiments of the Jim Crow South to inform their own movement. The list of Nazi crimes against women is also long and well established.

The Nazi movement did not begin by saying, “Let’s exterminate an entire race of people.” That is how it ended. That was the finish line, not the starting line.

The Nazi movement began by harnessing resentment, fear, and power. It began by “othering” people who were innocent of the charges against them. It began by making legal that which is immoral and by creating chaos and injustice under the banner of “law and order.”

While the rise and reign of the Third Reich happened with a few notable resistors—whom we now universally celebrate as moral and theological inspirations—it also took place amid the fearful silence and frequent blessing of the Christian church in Germany.

Most Christians were bystanders at best and accomplices at worst.

The Price of Silence

Nearly everyone I know today says they would oppose the Nazi movement in how it ended. But is it not more important to oppose the Nazi movement in how it began—and how it, and other movements akin to it, always begin?

By the day, we see a growing affinity for Nazi sentiment in our culture.

Paul Ingrassia, who was nominated to a position in the Office of Special Counsel, confessed that he had a “Nazi streak” in him, along with a laundry list of racist statements. He also said Jan. 6 should be a national holiday. Eventually, his nomination was withdrawn.

Sebastian Gorka, a former Trump adviser, has been linked to a far-right, Nazi-allied Hungarian group.

Nick Fuentes has praised Hitler on his show, calling him “f***ing cool.” Fuentes has stated his supreme goal as “total Aryan victory” and has called for a holy war against Jewish people. He has dined with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on multiple occasions. Recently, Tucker Carlson platformed Fuentes in an interview, sparking a rift within the Heritage Foundation and the Republican Party at large.

John Kelly, Trump’s former White House chief of staff, reported that Trump regularly said Hitler “did some good things” and expressed appreciation for Hitler’s generals.

On Oct. 25, texts were published from the Young Republicans of New York expressing “love for Hitler” and joking about gas chambers, slavery, and rape.

On Nov. 5, conservative columnist and former Southern Baptist Russell Moore published an article in Christianity Today titled, “The Church Better Start Taking Nazification Seriously.”

On Nov. 4, at a gathering of the Republican Jewish Coalition, Sen. Lindsey Graham said he was in the “‘Hitler sucks’ wing of the Republican Party.” The room laughed and applauded.

Count me as one who finds this to be neither a laughing matter nor fodder for jokes—not when it marches in the streets of my city, nor when it pulls levers of influence in the world’s most powerful positions.

Exit Ramps

As a country, we are on a very dangerous and predictably disastrous road. While there are some off-ramps ahead of us, many are already in our rearview mirror, too late for us to take.

The more Nazism is coddled in its ideological convictions, the more emboldened it becomes in its actions. The more extreme speech is tolerated without accountability, the easier it is for extreme violence to roam free. The more morally numb and passive we become, the more we pave the way for evil to prosper—either with our frightened silence or our outright blessing.

It is past time to wake up from moral slumber. It is past time to remember the sins of our history, their human cost, and their ongoing impact on our lives today. It is past time to reconnect with our moral discernment and clarity.

Ask yourself: “What is really going on here? Why did white supremacists and neo-Nazis feel safe and compelled to march at Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, on Dec. 6, 2025? What social winds are they trying to harness?”

If we dismiss these masked men as outliers and extremists, I believe we are missing the more important social, spiritual, and political powers that are emboldening them to act in this way.

There are people who are repulsed by Nazi symbols but attracted to Nazi ideology, even if they cannot or will not recognize it as such. In the same way, there are people who cherish the American flag but trample on the republic for which it stands. And there are adherents of the Christian faith who are heavy on surface symbolism but extremely light on the actual teachings and way of Jesus—especially as it relates to those in power.

It takes discerning eyes to distinguish between false paths that lead to death and true paths that lead to life.

To the people of my city, especially those who live in the neighborhoods where this happened: I see you, and this is not OK.

To the immigrants of this country, who are being scapegoated for problems they did not create: I see you, and this is not OK.

To the women of this country, who are being shown that they can be violated by powerful men with impunity over and over again: I see you, and this is not OK.

And to whoever might be reading this today, might I implore you to take the next exit you see off this road of destruction and desolation? I will meet you there. I believe God will meet both of us there.

We can walk against the grain, difficult though it may be. At least we will be heading in the direction of Life, even though it might demand our lives.

But take the next exit you see. As Thomas Hobbes famously wrote, “Hell is truth seen too late.”