Identifying Hate

All around us, we hear people asking why our world seems to be so filled with so much hate. We talk about it among friends and co-workers; we read about it in newspapers; we see and hear of it all over the radio and television; we see it in the movies; in video games; on the highways; in the dark alleys; in many sports events; in comic books; in novels; we hear it in some of the music; we see it all over the Internet. How can we not recognize it?

Recognition is the first step toward change.
Ok, I didn't make this up. Experts tell us that in order to effect true change, we must first recognize the need for change. Until then, we will simply be applying temporary and hopeless stop-gaps or other mechanisms intended to legislate or otherwise control unwanted behaviors, attitudes, and character traits. We must first admit that we, ourselves, are building our own world of hate; and it appears we must even be enjoying a lot of it; else it would not prevail as it does. Doesn't that sound just a little off, for a society and civilization that claims to be founded on the fundamental and solid truths of "brotherly love"?

What is brotherly love, and why should I care about it?
In a nutshell, brotherly love is the character trait which allows people to feel and experience others' pain, suffering, and discomfort; and do something to help alleviate that. Brotherly love is what we see when disasters strike; when people, indeed, the world, pulls together toward the common goal of survival, rescue, and rebuilding. In times of great distress, we seem to be closest to abolishing hate; but it must lurk just beneath the surface, since it doesn't take long to fall back into the proverbial "rut".

That's all hogwash, anyway!
Say what? Hogwash? Does this not ring true? Why is it that we do so well when the chips are down, but always seem to forget how blessed we all really are by being part of our great global family, once the dust settles? Why do we return to wars and other atrocious and inhumane, even criminal-to-humanity activities?

Spotting the hate.
How do we identify hate? Can we identify hate? Is violence hate? Is prejudice hate? Is envy or jealousy hate? Is racism hate? Is bigotry hate? Is bias hate? Is pre-judgment hate? Is social labeling hate? Is corporate greed hate? Is selfishness hate? Is vengeance hate? Is revenge hate? I believe we must learn to identify and define where some of our collective hate is influenced from; then we can learn to make adjustments; if we really want to, that is.

Do we really want to change?
Looking at how full of apparent hate some of the modern-day entertainment, hobbies, some sports activities, even childrens books and video games are; and seeing how well such items sell to the general public; it appears that we truly do want to perpetuate more and more of those basic attitudes and representations of hate that can only lead to quite the opposite of that "brotherly love" idea we discussed a bit earlier.

What next?
Only we, as individuals, can formulate the "next steps". Another adage says: "It all starts with me!" Each of us must determine within the depths of our souls what it is we really wish to promote, foster, and otherwise grow in our collective world. If we all choose to truly abolish all hate, and replace it with love, I cannot even imagine what kind of world we could have.

Rule of thumb:
A simple way to identify hate is to ask this very basic question: "Does this (insert specifics here) represent something that speaks of Love, or of Hate?" It really is that simple. Then, if we can admit the truth to ourselves, we can begin to see how easy it is to get stuck in that rut; where we continue to perpetuate and promote attitudes which are cancerous and deadly to an allegedly peace-seeking world.