I simply don’t understand all the hate toward people who are different or think differently going around in this country today.
Why, why, why? I keep asking.
Is it fear? Is it a lack of self-esteem? Is it greed? Is it a feeling of supremacy? Is it what people were taught or learned growing up? Is it narcissism? Is it plain old meanness? Is it a desire for political power?
Is it all of the above? Or none of the above?
It’s certainly not what I thought Christianity stood for – and I say that because I’m seeing some church leaders standing at the forefront of the hatred movement. What happened to loving one another?
America, and the world, is a melting pot of races, cultures, beliefs, genders and political leanings. We never will all agree on things, but that doesn’t mean we can’t respect one another – excepting, of course liars and cheaters and those who purposely do harm to others.
But what’s going on today goes far beyond those exceptions.
Will someone please help me understand.
Pat Bean is a retired award-winning journalist who lives in Tucson with her canine companion, Scamp. She is a wondering-wanderer, avid reader, enthusiastic birder, Lonely Planet Community Pathfinder, Story Circle Network board member, author of Travels with Maggie available on Amazon (Free on Kindle Unlimited), and is always searching for life’s silver lining.
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I do not understand also and I appreciate reading your thoughts.
It is so hard, Pat. Your words take me back several decades when I was Program Director for adults with intellectual disabilities and mental illness. I worked closely with a wonderful psychologist who helped my staff and myself to develop behavior modification plans for our residents designed to reduce maladaptive behaviors. I’ve never forgotten part of a conversation we had. I’d wondered why a client behaved in a certain negative way. Dr B looked at me and smiled, his wise eyes smiling also. “There’s always a reason for every behavior we each have. Sometimes we can figure it out but mostly we’ll never know the reason.” Those words frequently return to me when I wonder, as you do, why, why, why. I know there’s a reason that I’ll probably never know. This isn’t an answer or a solution to your question, but maybe it can give a little more insight. Always nice to visit with you, Pat. xo
If you ever get it figured out let me know ! I think fear has something to do with it and just not trying to getting to know other people different than them . Good thought provoking thoughts Pat..
I ask myself the same question everyday. I do know from reading history that fear seems to generate divisiveness. McCarthyism and the Red Scare, 9/11 and terrorism are two examples. Now we have the fear from the pandemic. So perhaps it comes down to fear of the differences between people. I do hope it works out okay in the end, but I am becoming increasingly worried about the outcome.
I don’t understand what has happened to civil disagreement, civil discourse, tolerance of others, compassion. I just finished reading The Great Mortality about the Black Death and its effect on civilization and much the same happened. Jews were scapegoated and massacred. Neighbors turned against each other. Civilization basically collapsed. How can we turn this divisiveness around? I worry about my grandchildren – ages 15-21. What world will they live in?
I believe the chaos of the day is part of the Prophets foreseeing that latter-day plagues would appear on the earth before His coming, and we are in the middle of it. This includes climate change and world-wide virus devastation, so hunker down and pray for redemption.