I am tired of this great divide we are living in. The world is not black and white, nor it is shades of grays or even equal in all it’s creations. Its is vast, it is challengeing, it is ever evolving, always fluid and flexible. It is exquisitely unique, diverse and needs that diversity and uniqueness to balance. Nothing in nature tolerates another thing, it all adjusts or avoids to maintain each contribution to the whole.
The story of how the reintroduction of the wolves into to ecosystem of Yellowstone comes to mind. It was once thought the predator needed to be eradicated to protect the other animals. We now know they are much needed to balance that ecosystem. We now know that leaving “harmless animals” without the predator, even the most seemingly innocuous creature can bring harm to a whole system.
Yet, we as a species, feel we can control nature, that by removing that which scares us or has the potential to harm us must be removed. We hate the weak because they demand our time, the rewards of our labors. Or we hate those who scare us, those we perceive to have gained more than us by ill-gotten gain, yet don’t recognize their hard work and contribution to a community. Each not seeing the greed and avarice that drive those feelings. Stop and look at the words you use. Are you promoting hate? Are you stifling another’s ability to utilize their strengths and abilities to pull themselves out of poverty? Are you taking food out of someone else’s mouth by demanding more taxation from those you perceive as greedy and entitled, when you have no idea of the good works they may do? I am waiting for dialogues to start sounding like conversations, not sound like PeeWee Herman and the Bully in a verbal pissing match.
Fascists are growing out of the extremes of both left and right ideologies. Life matters that should be common to each of us have become politicized and polarized for the intent to control masses. Start treating people with dignity and respect. Listen, have a conversation, find common ground and let’s start building consensus, coming to compromises and finding real solutions to very real social issues. I don’t know about you, but I am tired of conversations filled with soundbites and mildly witty memes.
“Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction. So when Jesus says “Love your enemies,” he is setting forth a profound and ultimately inescapable admonition. Have we not come to such an impasse in the modern world that we must love our enemies– or else? The chain reaction of evil–hate begetting hate, wars producing wars–must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.” — Martin Luther King Jr. (Strength to Love)