Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. 1 John 4:8
God is love. Simple words that bring about a simple thought. God is love. It does make one wonder, however, if God is love, who is hate. Hate seems to have become an increasingly popular commodity these days.
We all remember during the Presidential Campaign of Barack Obama when his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, let lose. Sadly and tragically, he let lose with a barrage of hate statements. His statements, and the man himself, proved to be indefensible.
Every day Rush Limbaugh gets on the radio and lets loose a torrent of hatred toward those he disagrees with. Glenn Beck does likewise. Keith Olbermann, from the other perspective, does so as well. Hate.
Of late, in the health care debate, there was lots of hatred generated.
At a tea party rally in Columbus, Ohio several taunted and humiliated a man who was sitting on the ground with a sign that said he had Parkinson’s disease. One of the Tea Party protesters leaned over the man and sneered: “If you’re looking for a handout, you’re in the wrong end of town.” Another threw money at the man, first one bill and then another. Pure hate.
Rep. John Lewis, well noted person in the civil rights movement was called the “N-Word,” as he walked toward Congress. Usage of racial slurs is a sign and symbol of hatred.
Barney Frank was taunted because he was gay. Hate.
Another person was spit on. Hate.
John Boehner, it is stated over and over again, has fried brains from his tanning salon. Hate.
A blogger in my town referred to the President and Speaker of the House as Hussein Odumbo and Botox Pelosi. Hate.
We like to diminish things and say that these are all isolated incidents. They really aren’t. The hate-mongers show up every day and every night on radio and television. The demonstrations have incidents like the one recorded in Columbus, Ohio, that appear to be isolated until you read the signs. Lots of hate in those signs.
The recent Health Care legislation was an amazing display. In observing the House the other night, contempt and disdain were two auras in the air. There was lots of harsh language, a plethora of lies and half truths, and hate. Hate.
We want to blame hate on others. We like to blame hate on the talk show hosts, on the columnists, on the politicians, and on the sign holders. Yet, everyone is to blame. When we turn on the radio or television and listen to the hate talk, we have complicity in their words and actions. When we find ourselves using slurs or referring to others or the opinions of other people as ‘stupid,’ we are part of the problem. Many of the people outraged when President Obama is called a Socialist were very fast to call President Bush a Fascist. (Of course, there are the people who call President Obama both a Socialist and a Fascist; but that’s a bit like saying he’s a square and a circle at the same time.)
There is a solution to all of this hate that can be quickly summarized.
Hate: Don’t do it! I'm not sure who hate is, but God is love; and God does not call people to hate one another.
3 comments:
I have stated this before, but I will again. If you want to begin to reduce this hate, then you need to start by addressing it on all sides.
I will credit you with mentioning Keith Olberman among the on air 'haters.' But how many times do you hear his name mentioned in the media for the lies and hate he spouts? You hear someone making comments about Rush Limbaugh almost every day.
Why is that?
You mention three instances in the weekend protests on healthcare, each one of which was covered in detail on all the media.
But do you recall any such media coverage of the hate displayed against Bush? Go to something called Zomblog posting for 8/19/09 and see the photos of the signs that anti Iraq war protestors carried. Many of them calling for Bush to be killed.
Where was the press's outrage then?
Or maybe go to the BushandCheneysuck.com site. Or the Palinsucks.org page.
RR, I think you need to re-read my post.
I mentioned four instances of left wing hatred, namely of Wright, Olbermann, calling George Bush a Fascist, and hate language directed at John Boehner. I am referring to hate language right here, right now. I am not making hate comments against Bush or even making reference to them. I have never been on any of the Hate Bush sites and haven't been on the Hate Obama sites either.
When it comes to Limbaugh, as a hate speaker, I'll leave it to people's judgment by listening to him. Personally, I think he receives a great deal of coverage because he says things no one else would ever sink to saying, but that's my humble opinion.
I stand by what I wrote. It is a balanced attack on hate of all sorts. Hate is wrong----it doesn't matter what your ideology is; if you hate, you're wrong.
If you read my comments, I was making reference to the debate in Congress as well. Both sides were booing each other, both
Apologies. i was not intending to criticize what you wrote, but the way the main stream media was covering the issues. (NPR provided a count of the number of democratic offices holders and campaign offices who had had something bad happen to them in the last 48 hours and assumed it had to be the fault of those opposed to Obamacare.)
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