HATE: THE OLDEST EMOTION

I've decided to stick with LOVE...

HATE is too heavy a burden to bear

The above quote was spoken by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Why did he need to say it then and why do we have to say it today?

Hate is energy. It takes more energy to hate than to love. So why do people turn to hate? Is hate taught? Are we born in a state of love?

I believe we are born in a state of innocence ... Like Oscar Hammerstein wrote in the soliloquy for Oklahoma, the Broadway musical, “…you’ve got to be taught to hate.” Why teach hate? It’s about being superior by making the other guy inferior. Making someone different from you less than.

Jews killed Christ. Let’s vilify Jews.

People of color have lower IQs. Let’s hate Black people. Remind them they are inferior.

Asian people…fill in the blank.

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I watch my neighbors hate. I wonder, as they twist their faces to send their negative messages, if they have any idea how much like a gargoyle they appear. The people who use hate to send their message are men and women who are healthy. They can walk and talk and work and pay their bills. So, what’s going on? More. More is going on. I want more house. I want more car. I want more money. Frustration on steroids. Rather than train for a new job that will offer more opportunity and financial gain, rather than getting out of a relationship that is demeaning, they hate. Hate fills the emotional gap of life’s frustrations.

Imagine a relative or previous friend who has hated you. You didn’t please them. You didn’t do what they expected or needed you to do. You did what you needed to do for your own well-being. Unforgiveable. They chose hate over love and understanding.

I believe people who rely on hate to control the people in their lives have distanced themselves from love. They’ve forgotten what it means to forgive. They think forgiveness is the coward’s way out. I will keep my thumb on you because I am perfect. I am the standard. They wave a flag that flies in their heads: DON’T TAMPER WITH PERFECTION! I TAKE NO RESPONSIBILITY.

I say to you: Move on. Do not spend your energy persuading them that you are a good person. Whatever you say will fortify their idea that you are bad, bad, bad.

Put your energy into people who invest in you, who love you, who respect the difference you make in their lives.

Choose love every time.