Has hating become popular?
With Valentine’s Day around the corner, it seemed a good time to ask this question. Has hating others become popular and, perhaps, accepted behavior?
Sadly, there are indications that we are living in an age of hate. Have you read and even posted on social media in the past couple of years? Have you watched cable television news? Have you turned away from some friends and even family members? Have you seen evidence of hate around you? Could you, yourself, be guilty of hating others? (Clarification is called for here. It is okay to disagree with others. It is not okay to hate them.)
Personally, I find hating to be debilitating and self-defeating. In my long lifetime I can truthfully say that I have hated only one person. In retrospect, I should have felt sorry for him. He was clearly unhappy in life and hated himself. My hatred did not help him crawl out of the lonely hole he had put himself into. I was putting another brick on the load he was already carrying.
It has been years since that person has been in my life. If his name crosses my mind today, I quickly shut down that old hate sensation. My failing to do so would mean wasting a few precious minutes of life. My hating does not make me a happy or better person.
While I will never be able to send a Valentine card to him, at least my “hate window” is permanently closed and does not open for him or anyone else. Hating wears me out. I do not understand why others allow that window to remain open in their lives.
Happy Valentine’s Day
I’ve seen a lot of hatred after the election, especially from the left. Hate has replaced disagreement and violence has replaced dialog. Sad.
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