Love or Hate: The Choice is Yours

Hate is a terrible word. We look around the world and we see hatred and strife everywhere. Hatred takes many forms. There is racial hatred, ethnic hatred, political hatred, hate driven by jealousy and greed, religious hatred, class envy expressed as hatred, economic hatred, generational hatred, and the horrendous hatreds of child abuse and slavery.

People hate other people because of their skin color, their physical appearance, their education level or lack of education, or because of their class or economic level in society. People hate other people because of their occupation, because they live in big houses or are homeless, or simply because someone gets in their lane and goes slower on the freeway.

America is being torn apart by hatred at this moment because of political viewpoints, and far too many in the media are fanning the flames of hatred daily to shock, anger and drive people to hate each other. They do so to sensationalize news stories, build ratings, and pander to what they believe to be their “loyal” TV viewers, radio listeners, and newspaper and magazine readers. Add to this the purveyors of Internet and social media content in general, and there is a whole lot of hatred spewing at us each minute of each hour every day.

We are given a choice to hate or to love one another. We are also given a choice to turn off the TV or radio, shut off the computer, and to ignore the newspaper or magazine and talk to each other.

Do you actively hate others because of politics? If so, that is terribly sad. We may disagree about how things should be run in government, but that should not keep us from maintaining our friendships and relationships with others.

Hatred should have no place in the mind of an intelligent human being. To love or to hate are choices we make individually, from the heart. No one is qualified to make that choice for us. Choose love. It is a far, far better way to live. Do not be a media pawn. Turn off the noise, shut off the images, and celebrate life. Hatred brings stress. Love brings peace. Which will you choose?