Among the Super Bowl ads that aired last Sunday, the one that moved me most was sponsored by the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism. While it specifically highlighted attacks against Jews, its message resonates far beyond any group targeted by hate.

The ad features Snoop Dogg and Tom Brady trading insults, making its point in a mere 15 seconds. But it was Snoop’s final line that stayed with me: “I hate that things are so bad that we have to do a commercial about it.”

Hate has become so pervasive in this country that I struggle to comprehend it.

I’d like to believe that we’ve made progress. I’d like to believe that, as a society, we’ve learned from history. But every day, the headlines tell a different story—synagogues defaced, mosques attacked, racial slurs scrawled on schools, political violence on the rise. It’s no longer an isolated event; it’s a pattern, a spreading sickness that eats away the very foundation of who we claim to be.

Hate isn’t new, but today it spreads at a breathtaking pace. Mark Twain once said, ‘A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth gets its pants on.’ He would be stunned to see how social media accelerates hate at warp speed—spreading it within seconds of being posted, turning whispers into shouts, and ignorance into influence. Politicians exploit it, stoking fear and division for power. And too often, people look the other way, believing it’s not their fight . . . until it is.

Firefighters from around the US and world came to the aid of California, Fox News reported, to supply the support, compassion and unconditional help to a place ravaged by deadly fires. Which ones were Republicans and which were Democrats or Independents we’ll never know. We only know and are immensely grateful for their help.

And yet, when the crisis abated, far too many of us returned to our political camps; far too many returned to spewing hate.

This isn’t just about antisemitism, though that remains a persistent and dangerous force. It encompasses all forms of bigotry: against race, religion, gender, identity, political belief, and anything I’ve left out. It’s about a society where hatred is no longer whispered but broadcast, where division is a currency too many are willing to spend. It continues to exacerbate  the Us vs. Them perception, except BOTH sides are part of the same community, both part of the same country and both are part of the dis-ease of cynicism.

The problem isn’t just those who spread hate; it’s also those who allow it to thrive through silence. If history teaches us anything, it’s that indifference is the accomplice of injustice.

“The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil,” Einstein said, “but by those who watch them without doing anything.”

What can we do? We need to speak out when we see hate, and refuse to accept it as the norm, not just some of the time, ALL of the time. We need to call on leaders—political, religious, and cultural—to stand against it, unequivocally. And we need to remember that fighting hate isn’t about politics or culture or gender; it’s about humanity.

Snoop Dogg is right—it’s a tragedy that we need a commercial to remind us. But maybe that commercial sparks a conversation. Maybe it makes someone think twice before repeating a stereotype or ignoring an injustice or re-posting irresponsible or hateful words, on all sides, (and by the way, let’s drop the concept of sides). Maybe, if enough of us take it seriously, we won’t need another ad like it next year.

Because the real measure of progress isn’t the words we say—it’s what we’re willing to do.