How Do We Resist Hate and Fear?
Hate is never the answer.
We are all different. You and I are not the same. Even though we might have some similarities, we are still different. We are individuals. That means that each and every one of us is unique.
Yet, at the same time, we are all one. Every single one of us, at our core, is just a being of light and energy.
We live in a fear-based society. Recognizing this, we have to work extra hard to not be overwhelmed by fear. Yoda put it rather well when he said, “Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.”
The neo-Nazis, the so-called “alt-right”, the white supremacists, the KKK and all those groups are equal parts fear and hate. They fear losing their identities, losing the power they believe they have, and they are afraid of change. This leads to anger, which gets redirected as hatred for minorities, Jews and Muslims, women…take your pick.
I am in no way defending the actions of these people, but I do think we need to consider perspective. To understand what others believe helps us find tools to combat their hate and fear. We can be more capable when we stand up to them, and show them that their fear and hate do not empower them as they would believe.
Our society is suffering from deep fractures many do not recognize. In the US, our government is a complete mess; many cannot tell the difference between propaganda and legitimate news and information; and the divide between the haves and the have-nots has grown almost exponentially. Extremists have come to power, and they see only in black-and-white, ignoring the majority at the center and working to force viewpoints to their way of thinking.
Pathwalking can combat hate.
Pathwalking is about choosing our own destiny, our own fate in this life. Rather than let life live me, I am striving to take control over that which I can. My thoughts are my own, my goals belong to only me, and I want to live an extraordinary life of peace and joy. I want to empower myself.
Yet despite the individuality of my purpose, I also want to empower others. I share this philosophy because I believe that we can all benefit from greater self-awareness. By becoming empowered, we can build amazing things.
Fear, anger and hate are not empowering. One of the greatest mistakes these groups make is that they believe they empower themselves with their venom. The exact opposite is true, however. In disempowering the groups they are afraid of and hateful towards, they actually are disempowering themselves. That is why they are standing on the other side of history, and despite a resurgence of soft political support, they are truly a minority.
The challenge is not fighting hate with hate. It’s really really easy to dislike these people and their views and their actions. They are hurtful, they are hateful, and not to put too fine a point on it, they come across as evil. We can overcome their message, we are the actual majority here, but they are loud, they are backed by money, and they spew messages that bring us all low.
The right kind of resistance is not futile.
I am not advocating for going totally flower-child hippy on this. We need to demonstrate, we need to march, we need to stand together to resist this evil. Different is not bad. When you get right down to it, everything at its core is energy.
It does not matter if you are black, white, male, female, transgendered, gay, straight, bi, Jew, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Atheiest, American, Russian, Korean, or whatever other labels you care to apply…at our core WE ARE ALL ONE. We think differently, we have different goals, we have different wants and needs. Yet even with all our differences, we are all one, all of us are light and energy at our core.
Reconciling our free-will and individuality of thought with our sameness of being is why we need to empower ourselves, and one another. When we are aware of ourselves, we can do more for the world at large. Mob mentality, and organized groups of haters lack awareness, or I don’t think they’d be so quick to spew their rancor.
Observe the reaction when individuals from the Charlottesville marchers were called-out. When identified as part of the mob, they felt themselves empowered. But as soon as they were named and individualized and shamed, many changed their tune, and attempted to lessen their role in hate-mongering. Suddenly they were disempowered…though in truth they were always disempowered.
Hate can be overcome.
We need to take our own empowerment, and use it to overcome the disempowered masses. One of the best ways to do this is to work on empowering them. When we can show them that their lives are not being overtaken by that which they fear and hate, we can begin to help them see how disempowered they truly are by their so-called leaders, teachers, demagogues and the like.
Resist meeting hate with hate. Love is not necessarily the opposite of hate. Kindness, respect, sympathy, and aid are among the antonyms of hate, and can be used to combat it. The more we are aware, the more we can help bring awareness to others. With greater awareness, we can build a better world, and overcome the fear.
Hate is never the answer. What do you do to resist the fear and hatred in our society?
This is the two-hundred ninety-fourth entry in my series. These weekly posts are ideas for and my personal experiences with walking along the path of life. I share this journey as part of my desire to make a difference in this world along the way.
Thank you for joining me. Feel free to re-blog and share.
The first year of Pathwalking, including some expanded ideas, is available here.
If you enjoy Pathwalking, you may also want to read my Five Easy Steps to Change the World for the Better.
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