We hear a lot about hate these days. It has even become a new category of crime. I find that I watch less and less TV lately. But, when I do watch, I see more and more hate. I see it on the news. I see it in prime time entertainment. It is especially rampant on the talk shows. I would argue that the “talking heads” on TV are one of the deepest reservoirs of hate in our society……….. right up there with politicians.
For those of you who are less than 65 years old, here is a list of popular TV shows from the 60’s: “Leave it to Beaver”, “Bonanza”, “Ozzie & Hariett”, “Gomer Pyle”, “Andy of Mayberry”, “The Brady Bunch”, “The Tonight Show”…… you get the point. These shows were a lot of things……..but they were fairly hate free. Compare these shows to the fare we get during prime time today. Talk shows are even worse. Politicians……. both on the left and on the right are the worst of all.
And the hate is growing………it’s growing so fast that it is scary.
If hate is a good thing……. then we are in “hog heaven”.
But, I doubt that any one of us thinks that hate is good.
It is very easy to spot hate when it is directed toward people that we agree with………. it is much less obvious and much less offensive when the hate is directed toward our enemies. It can even feel noble to hate our enemies………after all they are evil…..aren’t they?
Here is the trick.
The politicians and the talking heads on TV demonize anybody that they disagree with. They work very hard to fertilize and cultivate our list of enemies. Their sponsors and donors spend billions of dollars to grow our list of enemies. Together they spend billions of dollars and hours of prime time to grow our hate. Then, in an act of amazing hypocrisy, they object to the fact that the other side……. “the enemy” ……..is doing the same thing.
Here is a profound truth.
Your “enemy”……… the guy that your TV, smart phone, and your computer want you to hate…..is a lot like you. In fact, he wants the same things that you want: safety for his family and community, financial security (not a Porsche in the drive, but enough to feed and shelter his family), a decent job, health care that won’t bankrupt him, air that he can breath, and water that he can drink. In a word……. your “enemy” is not evil……..he is almost like you……..he just sees a different way of getting there……… and the politicians and “talking heads” hate him for it.
The politicians & the talking heads……..your TV, smart phone, and your computer…….. have lied to you……. they have recruited you into their hate. I know his sounds strong……… but if you look at what they feed you objectively……… you will see what I’m saying. Think about the people that they want you to hate. What have they done to harm you personally? Did they hit you, rob you, steal your car, vandalize your home? No……. what they did was to intellectually offend the talking head.
So………. what do we do? How can we, as a people, fight back against hate?
First and foremost……. we must identify the “enemies” whom we have been taught to hate. If you are having trouble making a list…………start with Trump and Pelosi. You can probably come up with a list of a dozen specific names. Add to that the nameless faceless classes of “enemies”: illegals, the “one percent”, black people, white people, etc. Then we need to recognize them as people very much like us…… people who, in the final analysis, want about the same things that we want.
Second…….. we must learn to disagree with them without anger…… without hate. We must learn to talk about our problems with each other…….like adults……. without rancor. We must recognize that the “other side” has good workable solutions too.
Third……..it’s time to start filtering out the inputs that are trying to grow our hate. I admit that it’s unrealistic to throw our TV, computer, and smart phone into the trash…….. although that would go a long way toward solving the problem. But, what we can do, is pull the plug on any media outlet, talking head, or politician the instant that they cross the line into hate. This will be easy when they are hating you or your people. It will be much harder to spot and act on when they are hating your “enemies”.
Just remember, the media and the politicians are the ones who sold you your list of enemies in the first place.
Here is my hopeful thought for this week:
A talking head on TV tries to recruit you to hate his “enemy du jour”.
You turn off the TV.
His ratings drop.
His sponsors flee.
He is replaced by another talking head with his list of enemies.
Repeat this until the media catches on. This could take a while……. they sincerely believe that they are smarter than you are.
Or…………….you could just keep on ingesting the hate…….but what does that say about you? In the end………we get the world that we deserve.
So…….. when you are watching Fox and Hannity laces into somebody……….. when you are watching a late night talk show and Colbert laces into somebody……… just turn it off. Just pull the plug on hate. Keep a good book handy as a backup.
I’ve just finished reading “Educated” by Tara Westover. I highly recommend it.
You can, as a Christian, disagree with others.
But, there is nothing Christian about hate.
Even if the person whom you are hating is wrong.