Today I'm breaking with my story theme. It's partially because the subject of today's blog is something I have thought about a lot and I wanted to share. Today's subject is all about religion and politics or at least the emotions surrounding them. Touchy subjects, I know.
Everyone says that if you want to keep your friends don't discuss religion or politics. That is, of course because people get so darned worked up about those subjects. And that leads me to the real heart (or lack thereof) of the matter. Hate.
How many people in your political circle say "Oh I hate what's-his-face or what's-her-face?" They then proceed to go on a rant about this persons political views and how wrong they are etc. Now I'm not saying that very politically vocal people aren't sort of inviting this kind of thing, but really why all the hate? I might not like a person's views, but I don't hate that person for it. And I also think that the word "hate" is thrown out WAY too casually nowadays.
I also wanted to say something about how not to hate. How to love. Example: I know a good many people that I met online that I absolutely love. Especially those I met on a site called HPANA. Many of these people have completely opposite views on politics and religion. How do we get along? How do we not end up hating one another? Well, we rarely discuss those sensitive subjects, and when we do we have an unspoken agreement that we will be respectful. The key is respect. Plus if you can find common ground in your love for something else that's important to all of you (like writing for example) then you are one step closer to being able to discuss things like religion and politics. You can disagree. You can choose to love a person instead of hate them in spite of opposing view points.
I'm going to end with a list of things I DO feel it's okay to hate.
1. Child abuse - any kind
2. Abuse of the elderly
3. Terrorism
4. Bigotry
5. Violent crimes of any kind
6 comments:
Strangely, we have blogged about the same thing for H. Only, I wasn't able to come up with an appropriate H word, so picked H for Hitler :-)
Totally agree with you on your list of things that SHOULD be hated. And the key to dealing with differences is not to sweep them under the carpet, but to listen to the other person, and agree to disagree if neither can convince the other. To be honest, I don't choose to love a person despite disagreeing with her- I respect the other person for having her views, and the question of hate doesn't even come up.
But that is just me.
~ Rayna
Natasha, I get what your saying. That's exactly what I meant, and as always you said it better.
There is a thin line dividing love and hate, unfortunately hate seems to win more times than love, The person who hates is to me someone who is insecure and have no self respect, If you had inner peace hate would not be in your volcabulary.
Loved your post.
Yvonne.
What a thought-provoking post! I absolutely agree with you that respect is the key to fruitful discussions. It's okay to be passionate about religion, politics or other such issues, but it is usually pointless to discuss with people who cannot control their emotions (at least to some degree). They must be missing out on some great debates, I guess.
Also, I wanted to say that even though you and I have differing opinions in many subjects, I still feel like I can discuss with you, exactly because you are aware of the respect this requires. I can only hope I manage to display that I also have great respect for you and your opinions (because I really do).
Great post!
I am privileged to participate in an online group that is able to discuss differing opinions with respect as well. I really appreciate the opportunity to talk with someone with a different viewpoint of mine and try to understand their opinion (it also helps me better understand those who agree with them but spend all of their time bashing the "other side"). I completely agree on your list of things to hate as well.
@ Yvonne- I wish that people could really SEE each other. Not just what they think the other person should be.
@ Mari- You always show so much love and respect. I love loving people and that's why I love you. :)
@ Melody- It's so great when people can actually come together even when they are different. It's part of what makes life worth living.
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