On April 20, Adolf Hitler’s birthday, two students opened fire at Denver`sColumbine High School, wounding twenty students and killing twelve kids, one teacher,and themselves. It was the largest school shooting in American history and shockedthe nation. In its aftermath, Singular began writing about the insidious infiltrationof rage and bloodshed in our society and this book was the frightening and disturbingresult of that investigation. Since the 1984 murder of Denver talk show host AlanBerg by neo-Nazis, Singular has charted the growth of terrorism, hate, and violenceas they’ve moved from the fringes into the mainstream of American society– invading the media, schools, workplaces, even houses of worship. Here examinesthe political landscape, religious organizations, legal systems, journalistic principles,and social structures that have encouraged Americans to commit these crimes. Today’scivil war is being fought from inside the hearts of individuals. Like a cancer,it is invading our institutions and undermining them from within.

The answer to Singular`s probing question — How did hatred and violence becomethe order of the day? — may lie in one of humanity`s oldest and saddest historicallessons: a society that violates or destroys its ideals and underlying principleswill eventually descend into violence. As the new millennium begins, Singular asksus to re-examine this critical lesson.