hatred is a destructive emotion, especially when directed toward another human being, harming both the person who harbors it and the person or persons who are its object. when we hate another, there is an element of fear that is at the root of the hatred. one has only to watch a few minutes of a trump rally to see the corrosive effect of hatred. we recall the "lock her up" chants directed at hillary clinton, the invectives hurled at latin american immigrants, the cruel nicknames trump uses for people he dislikes. those who participate in these expressions of hate are afraid of electing a woman like hillary clinton to high office, afraid of those whose ethnicity is different from theirs, afraid of those who disagree with them. we americans have been caught up in a political climate where hate is given free rein. political opponents are both figuratively and physically assaulted, and the most vile racist elements in the nation have been brought out of the shadows.
just as hate injures individuals, it injures a society. hate is infectious and easy to give into. it provides easy solutions to complex problems by scapegoating other groups of people. our failures and difficulties must be the fault of another group. "mexican immigrants are taking our jobs," or "blacks are all living off the taxpayers," the haters proclaim. we crave leaders who will endorse such notions rather than thoughtful public servants who are willing to do the hard work of getting to the roots of problems and finding ways to solve them. those who encourage the worst parts of ourselves never solve problems. they simply create new ones to distract us.
we are not so far from pre-nazi germany, when the slogan "hitler--our only hope" exemplified an easy way to resolve the many problems the german nation faced. i was reminded of that slogan when trump proclaimed that he was the only one who could solve the problems facing our country. history has shown us where such thinking leads. we cannot allow it to fool us. we must see ourselves as one people, not as a collection of disparate groups all vying for the limited resources that are available. we must turn from the politics of division and hatred and embrace compassion for one another and for all the world.
on this election day, may we reject the politics of hate. may we show one another and the world that we are better as a people than those who are filled with hatred and fear of those who are different from us, those who speak other languages, those who are members of other ethnic groups, those who embrace different political views or religions. may we embrace the ideals on which our nation was founded. shalom.
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