It all went to hell when attacking what we hate became more important than defending what we love.

The line contrasts two moral and political orientations: a constructive loyalty to what one cherishes versus a reactive fixation on enemies. It suggests social decline begins when negative partisanship—defining oneself chiefly by opposition—overwhelms positive commitments such as protecting institutions, relationships, or shared values. The phrasing implies a shift from stewardship to vendetta: energy that might sustain communities is redirected into punishment, humiliation, or purity tests. As an anonymous aphorism, it functions less as a report of a specific event than as a diagnosis of a recurring pattern in public life, warning that hatred can become an organizing principle that corrodes the very goods one claims to defend.