Hatred and Killing and Guns
I see hatred every day, all around me. I see it on TV first thing in the morning when Donald Trump gets more face time to stick his chest out and crow, prance, hate and show off. He really does think he is the cock of the walk. Poor man, he is so sick. I see it in the newspaper in comments about articles, any kind of articles, even articles about a tragic death. People say such hateful and awful things to each other. I see it on the streets of my small city. It is in grocery stores and in traffic. Hatred is bubbling over in this country.
Last night in a gay bar in Orlando, FL, 50..yes FIFTY people were murdered and 53 more were injured, some critically, by a man seething with hatred. This morning a scared and frantic mother of one of the young men in that bar was on TV. She told about her son’s partner being shot and critically injured, but she couldn’t find her son. She was scared out of her mind.
Why is there so much hatred? What ever happened to live and let live, and love thy neighbor? Why do zealots and radicals get so worked up over things they have no control over, that is no concern of theirs. I think part of the reason is the hateful climate of politics in this country. Yes, I think people like Donald Trump and Paul LePage and other loud obnoxious politicians have roiled and boiled up this kind of behavior from those on the edge of craziness. They are very skilled at stirring that cauldron of hatred. Whatever happened to honor, nobility and civility in political leadership? These guys and others like them, spew hatred , they stir up the masses of people like them and people who hate them and then they defend everybody’s rights to have a gun, any kind of gun. It is a frightening recipe for disaster. Their freedom of speech is a threat to peace loving people just living their lives. Their vitriolic comments fuel hatred, and they empower gun owning haters and work them into a frenzy to commit evil acts. Criticizing, name calling and stigmatizing “different” people is how these guys stay in their pulpits….they entertain each other and their ilk with that kind of smut. There is no substance or meaning to their words, only hatred. They boast about “saying it like it is”.
We need to change the public discourse in this country. We need to bring back real Christian values rather than fake fabricated ones. We need to lift people up who demonstrate those values, not people who fake they are Christian, only to further their personal agenda. The big mouths spewing this hatred claim to be Christians! What a lie! During my Catholic upbringing I learned that Christ loved everyone and helped those in need regardless of who they were! He gave, he didn’t take. He loved, he didn’t hate. He healed, he didn’t harm. I truly believe that his teachings should guide us, even those of us who are not religious or who may follow a different religion or spiritual belief. Peace and love, not hatred and killing.
I am sick to death of the violence, hatred and unnecessary loss of life within our own US borders. We need to get guns out of the hands of haters, and restrict gun sales. No more automatic weapons on our streets. Then we need to remove the perpetrators of hatred and violence from positions of power.
I can’t get that mother and her frantic fear out of my mind. She probably fears the worst, with good reason. I am the mother of a gay son and a straight son and I love them equally. I would defend both of them my own life, and I can’t imagine the pain that mother is bearing. This is a very sad morning for this country. This newest mass murder is another big scar on our country’s image and our ability to move forward.
Hatred must be stopped rather than cultivated in the US.
