I have a bad hangover. It’s not what you might think because it has nothing to do with consuming too much alcohol. I have a bad hangover from the excessive hate that has plagued America in the past few weeks. Unfortunately, it appears hate is gaining ground, and I feel like I need to find a remedy so I can start feeling like myself again.
I’m sixty – one years old, and I do not think I have seen more hate on display than I see today. Maybe you have, but not me, and that concerns me. Not so much for myself, but for my kids and grandkids – those who will be left behind when I go on ahead someday
I was born in the sixties; I was too young to remember the assassinations of Martin Luther King and the Kennedy brothers. I can only imagine how dark a time that must have been for our country. Three beloved leaders killed in their prime by senseless hate, taking away everything they had, and everything they were going to have. All of the great things they could have done came to a complete halt. I am positive, anger, confusion, and even revenge consumed people and communities. So, hate is nothing new, but lately, unfiltered hate seems to be the “go – to” strategy for any disagreement.
Do not pass GO, don’t collect two hundred dollars, just go straight to hate, and whatever you do, don’t stop to consider the consequences of that hate along the way.
I know God is love, and love overcomes hate, etc………but those words hold little merit when fewer and fewer people believe them.
So, what is the remedy for my hate hangover? What can I do to make myself feel better about the world in which I live? Where is the light that pushes out the darkness?
If I could pick a time in history to live, it would be the1800’s. I’ve always wanted to be a cowboy, wearing my six shooter, riding my pony on a cattle drive…cue Toby Keith. But after a few months of sleeping on the ground, eating beans, no hot showers or Spotify, I would be ready to be sent back to the future.
There is no better time to be alive in the history of the world than right now. At least that’s how I see it. There has always been hate, but social media has taken it to a new level of meanness. Even with all the craziness and uncertainty surrounding us, being on planet Earth in the year 2025 is pretty cool.
Without question, the high-profile violence that has taken center stage over the last several weeks is hard to stomach. I try not to hate anybody, but I’m not gonna lie, I do hate some things that people do. That’s where it gets tricky.
I’m a Christian, some days I am better at it than others, but I do have faith for things unseen. A faith that works for me, a faith that hate will only destroy. In that faith, I am told to love my neighbor as myself; trust me, that can be real at times. Am I supposed to love thy neighbors who I don’t agree with what they say or do? Or do I get to exclude them and only focus on thy neighbors who think and act like me? Hate has created a lot of problems in our country, but hate has not solved one yet. Disagreeing with someone on what they say or do is not a problem, hating them for it is. There is no money in that.
I do believe things will get better in our society and the hate will subside. Hate will eventually burn a person out because it is such a heavy burden to bear. That’s my hope, and I want that to happen more than anything for future generations. Life has so much to give and hate only takes.
I guess that’s the remedy to this hate hangover I have. Hang onto my faith, don’t repay hate with hate, and love thy neighbor, even if I disagree with what they stand for.
Lord, help me……
“I will permit no one to narrow my soul by making me hate them.”
– Booker T. Washington
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Todd Howey is a columnist for BrownwoodNews.com whose articles appear on Fridays. Email comments to [email protected].