8/14/2019 Loving the Haters

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/loving-the-haters 1/2

Loving the Haters

“ Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he doesto the web, he does to himself.” -- Chief Seattle

All of life is interwoven like a beautiful tapestry. Colors and textures dancetogether to lift the spirit and soothe the soul. Each thread of the tapestry bothadds to the beauty and uniqueness of the piece and helps to hold ittogether. Every thread is needed for without it, the tapestry would not be.

Similarly, every human being is an expression of divine perfection, necessary tothe function and form of our civilization. Each plays an imperative role inhumanity’s collective social, economic, family, political, and spiritual deprivationor fulfillment. In one way or another we need each other’s resources, whether it isengineering for the bus we ride, sewing of the clothes we wear, or labor to buildthe house we live in.

So what’s up with all the hate?

Hatred of another who is different in one way is liken to hatred of the self in manymore ways. Similarities among human beings far outweigh differencesbiologically, culturally, and experientially. Here in the United States, for example,most of us watch TV, wear clothing, work for a living, need air to breathe, healthyfood, clean water and a bed to sleep in every night, and we all desire unselfish,genuine love. We do, need, and want very similar things.

All people are united by these physical and emotional commonalities. This is notto discredit, disrespect, nor dismiss anger toward a perpetrator, the existence of widespread prejudice and fear, or pride in one’s heritage. Rather, we are unitedby spirit and through our need to survive, exist, and live completely.

Unfortunately, a number of leaders in most every socioeconomic group feel that itis necessary to not be angry at, but be afraid of and hate the members of another, distinct group of human beings. When accepted as reality rather thanopinion, this political propaganda distracts us from our goals and deters us frommoving forward toward those goals. Hate begets hate. Fear perpetuates fear. It iseasy, albeit convenient, to accept that someone else is to blame but on anotherlevel we are responsible for our own decisions and cannot control other people’sactions.

Individual responsibility and institutional accountability are integral to our past,present, and future situation. The nature, depth, and appropriateness of humanrelationships, both inter- and intra-cultural, are key indicators of our ability and

willingness to sustain and strengthen our communities. Healthy relationships thatcultivate equality of merit, room for individual growth, and mutually beneficialgoals result in cohesive, collaborative, cooperative communities where eachcitizen realizes his or her self-defined potential.

Differing worldviews, resulting from the traditions of generations, tacticalexperience, and cultural conceptualization, lead to miscommunication andmisunderstanding among classes and races. Opportunities for learning about theself through others’ experiences are often mistaken as threats to one’ssurvival. For example, sometimes children (and adults, too) dress up like ‘Indians’

8/14/2019 Loving the Haters

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/loving-the-haters 2/2

for Halloween. This can be seen as an insult and disrespect to the sanctity of native culture or it can bee seen as a respectable, though somewhatunintentional, intent to learn about and experience native tradition. A balance of these disparate ideas can evolve from ongoing education and opencommunication accompanied by receptiveness and a willingness to share.

Change is difficult; at times it can feel intolerable. Dynamic relationships amongindividuals or groups of people (companies, organizations, or specific socialgroups) are shaped by differences in values, opinions, and goals. Testing andsetting boundaries asserts individual desires while setting a framework to worktoward collective outcomes. These growing pains are necessary if people are tounderstand each other and work together.

Cooperation is a means to achieve mutual goals while competition dominates,oppresses, and perpetuates an antiquated class system. Because resources arelimited, sharing things such as money, space, labor, ideas, and materials makessense. People complement each other in the most beautiful way and to ignorethis would be foolish.

We must offer our love to those who choose to be fearful and hate for they aremost needy. A climate of forgiveness, understanding, love, and appreciation willemerge as each person chooses to let go of familiar patterns of behavior. Existing, shortsighted bandage remedies do not address the roots of this problem. The power to change the world lies in each one of us, incarnate byspirit and intensified by our existence and experience; I challenge you to find thatpower within yourself.