Why you gotta be so mean?

I just wrote this after a small, really small chat with my brother... I just realized it doesn't matter where I am his intent to destroy my life is stronger than anything else... I am shaking and praying please God don't let him to get into my head  .... 5 words are enough to make me feel the worst human being .... Please God take away the guilt... 

We can all agree that the two most powerful emotions in the world are love and hate. Indeed, every other emotion seems to stem from these two. Things like jealousy, longsuffering, greed, compassion, despair, and redemption ride in on one of those two thoroughbreds, love or hate.  Love seems to make the world go ’round, but does that make it more powerful than that dark horse candidate, hate? Or does that just make it more popular?

Hate has fueled most of the major newsworthy world events through the years. Think about it. If you look through the history books, you will find evidence of hate in events like:

1. The Holocaust

2. The Enslavement of Blacks (and others)

3. World Wars

4. Civil Wars

5. Military Conflicts (was Vietnam technically not a war?)

6. Hate Crimes (it’s even in the name!)

7. School Shootings

8. Serial Killing

9. Rape

10. Kidnapping and Torture

And the list goes on. Sadly, I know about these things because they are in the news all the time, right now, not just in the history books. But when was the last time you saw a news article about something positive, something loving, on the main page of the newspaper, or on any page for that matter? Unless it’s a fluff piece, or it’s buried on the last inside page of a section, it is very difficult to find love in the news. That’s because hate sells. Hate is more prevalent. And hate has lasting effects that feed off of each other, leaving utter devastation and an indelible handprint on the world. Hate is unavoidable if you live in this world, and that’s not something you can say with certainty about love.

So, does that mean hate is stronger than love?

“Why you gotta be so mean?” 

That’s a tricky question. Love is decidedly more popular. People do many amazing things for love, even if those things aren’t publicized. But people also go to extraordinary ends to show others how much they’re hated as well. Adults are posting videos to youTube of practical jokes that aren’t funny, of people being hurt and others laughing at them. This is hate, pure and simple. And it’s everywhere. It is undoubtedly strong enough to drive people to suicide , extensive therapy, and mental institutions. It can also pit father against son, mother against daughter, and sibling against sibling, what are supposed to be some of the strongest bonds you can create and sustain with love. Yet hate can and does rip those bonds to shreds over misunderstandings, and over irreconcilable decisions.

And we throw the word around like it’s a bag of Skittles we’re feeding to our dog. “I hate this test.” “I hate Mondays.” By doing this, we dull our senses to the ferocity the word should engender in us. It’s like overuse of the word “bitch,” and how it changes the meaning for us. But we forget that not everyone knows that the word means less for us now. They know that we used the word, and they know how strong the emotion is, even if we don’t even mean that emotion. That’s what can really lead to misunderstandings, things that sometimes never get resolved. Which is so sad, but true. I do my best to avoid the word at all costs, because by giving voice to it, I create the monster that then feeds without me. Amazingly enough, the same has gotten to be true with love as well. Love and hate are not opposites, by the way. The opposite of love is apathy. Hate has no opposite. It just is a black hole with no redemption, no light at the end of that tunnel, no going back.

Yes, hate IS stronger than love, because we make it that way. We show how important it is through our treatment and constant featuring of it. When most of the major historical events in our world involve intense hatred, it speaks volumes.  When was the last time we featured love and it wasn’t Valentine’s Day? So, yes, hate is stronger than love, but only because we allow it to be. We can reverse that trend, but we have to believe it.

Do you believe????