Growing up in Oklahoma in the 1960s meant a lot of discussion about war, political assassination, religion, race, crime, and college football. Most people in Oklahoma at that time were registered Democrats who voted Republican. While that may sound confusing, it led to a more fluid idea of politics.
Almost all those topics of discussion could become heated but generally the conversations were logical and well-meaning, even if biased and shallow. However, some actions during this time were horrible and life changing.
The assassination of the Kennedys hit me hard. I identified my world with John and Robert Kennedy. It was the world I wanted to live in. Their deaths seemed like a horrible movie that should have never been made. Till this day it has never made sense to me, why people would choose such drastic means to solve something—something, I didn’t even see. Why were they assassinated? That question has never been answered for me. Politics, CIA madness, gangsters, insanity, Cubans? Why?
I entered that period with great hope. Optimism was not a strong enough word to describe what I expected. I came out of those dark days, pessimistic and angry. Nothing was ever the same again.
Remembering those times, I recall how I felt lost. The country felt lost. I worried about everything. But, somehow, we survived. I don’t believe we got better, but we did move along, and many good things did happen. Even with healing, I felt like a great harm had been done to me, to my country and to the world, for no good reason.
Today we are still discussing war, religion, race, crime, and college football. What we are not discussing, thank goodness, is political assassination. Nevertheless, the arena of politics has become aggressively ugly. Still, aggressively ugly is not assassination.
In some ways we’re better today than we were then, in others we’re worse. The hatred level in this country has risen to a new high. Republicans hate Democrats, liberals hate conservatives, one group hates another group, rural communities hate big cities; we are divided haters. The violence is just below the surface. It will surely show its ugly head soon, unless we start to hate less.
How do we hate less? Not sure we can agree on the major differences, nor can we compromise and split the issues down the middle. So how do we hate less? We just do it!
Stop the hate by stopping the hate. I don’t agree with you, but I do not hate you. This is especially important when it is groups. Hating groups is stupid. Hating some asshole cousin who has always made your blood boil makes sense. Hating people you do not know, because they are different or because they hate you, is just dumb, and it should stop.
Not easy. We must relearn to appreciate that we are all humans, we all have flaws but also value. Now you can disagree with that, but only do it on an individual basis. Break the hate habit.
Some say we should love more, but I believe it would be just as beneficial if we just hated less. Think about some group you hate, maybe it’s Democrats, or the left, or the right—just spend a little time thinking and decide—well, they sure are wrong but I don’t hate them. Keep saying it until you start to really believe it. If you can’t, maybe it is time to think about yourself and who you have become.
If your solution to all the hatred is war or even assassination, then you have slipped over to the dark side of life. If you want to live there, you will need to recognize the ugliness of the world you have chosen. And it gets damn ugly quick.
If your neighbor is part of the “other”, your group will want the neighbor gone or even dead. You might say, no way, I will stop them, but when you are part of the mob you will have no control over what they do, and if you defend the neighbor, the mob will turn on you. Good people will become bad people with a mission to destroy. All driven by hate, not political goals. The hate says you must defeat your enemy. The ultimate defeat is death.
The assassination of the Kennedys was not a political statement, it was a statement of hate. This country and the world are once again playing with fire.
֍
New e-book Success Paths Business Series book just released. How to Start and Run a Successful Small Business (someone misled me into beliving a long title had merit). Paperback should be available next week. This knowledge is from my other life as a small business owner and accounting maven.
Ted Clifton's Grain of Salt Commentary 