There is a lot
of hate in the world today.
I’m not just
referring to the acts of terrorism that have taken place so recently in France.
That is heartbreaking, and criminal and an outrage to humanity. It is always
tragic when hate becomes institutionalized as a movement bent on destruction. I
believe that what is happening in the world in this regard today is not the
product of the true heart of Islam. Before you denigrate an entire religion
because of the actions of a few fanatics think on this. There have always been
small minded and evil people who eagerly use the excuse of religion to terrorize
those they consider lesser or evil, or just “other”. If you think this behavior
is unique to what we call Islamic terrorism, then I would suggest you look back
to the 1950s and 1960s. Those KKK members would have sworn they were doing the
Lord’s work when they terrorized their victims, bent on denying them their
rights, and even for some, their very lives. If that doesn’t convince you, go
back further in time to the Spanish Inquisition and the “Crusades” that were
directed against those who were not “Christian”. This is not to excuse these
crimes against humanity. Just to let you know they’re nothing new.
All this is
more than bad enough but there’s another indication of hate in the world that is
very worrisome to me. It is is the hate I am seeing everywhere from ordinary
people, people you might think were mild mannered, regular ordinary citizens. If
you have FaceBook, then I am sure you’ve seen it. Check your news feed, and look
at some of the memes that have been making the rounds for the last several
months. Haters abound. It’s very sad and very scary, and sadly, very
true.
I remember how,
in years past when there would be elections and, no matter how invested you were
in the process, at the end of the day, if your guy or gal lost, you put it
behind you, recognized the legitimacy of the government elected of the people,
by the people, for the people, and carried on until the next
election.
No more. Now,
if your guy or gal loses, the thing to do is to spread hate about the one
who was elected, to do your best to stir up fear and loathing of this
individual.
Here’s what
saddens me about this. You see, hate breeds hate. And those who fill their lives
with hateful messages and ideas and memes are filling their hearts and souls
with hate, too. You can’t help it, you can’t keep it out. Every ounce of hate
you take in and celebrate displaces an equal measure of love. The more hate you
fill yourself with, the less love you can hold and—the absolute worst part—the
more miserable you yourself are bound to feel.
I challenge
anyone to tell me that they simultaneously hate particular politicians,
or religions, or groups, or various movements and still honestly feel good about
themselves deep inside. You can’t do it because hate and love don’t co-exist.
You can’t love yourself and your life and your neighbor, while you are busy
spewing hate all over the place.
You cannot
love, while you are busy spewing hate.
Too many people
in today’s society demonize those with whom they have philosophical differences.
They are sowing a bitter, bitter harvest for themselves.
I’m not saying
that we shouldn’t do all we can to thwart those who would terrorize innocent
people in the name of ideology. Of course we should. We need to take action
against those who would break our laws and disregard the rights of others. We
need to stand firm, and refuse to be afraid to live our lives, and we should
urge those in positions of authority to investigate, and prosecute to the
fullest extent of the law, those guilty of crimes such as bombing, kidnapping,
and murder. We should stand up and speak out about injustice.
However, what
we absolutely must not do, is lose our humanity in the process. Because
the truth is that if you surrender completely to the hate you do in fact lose
your humanity, and you do one more thing as well.
You accomplish
the terrorists work for them.
Love,
Morgan
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