Where Hate Stems From

It seems to me that there is more and more hate in the world and less love and compassion. This got me to thinking, "Where does all this hate stem from?" and "What does that mean for us?" After pondering where hate comes form for several years, I have come to the conclusion that ultimately hate steams from two things.

1. From a lack of understanding.
2. Fear, which in turn comes from lack of understanding.

I believe that all hate stems from these two ideas, though at the root of it all it builds up from lack of understanding of one another. 

You see, in my experience I have noticed that more often than not we have become lazy. I am just as guilty as everyone else of this. By lazy I mean that we all at some point or another in our lives have either made conclusion based on information that we either don't understand or we don't wish to understand OR we simply don't want to understand something different from us.  

To give you an example, in the U.S. there as been an increased hate of the Islam religion. However, if you were to ask 100 random people in an every day crowd, many could not tell you what it is that Islam stands for; what it believes. Now, I'm not claiming to completely understand or even really understand the Islam religion in depth, but rather I am trying to point out that many people make the generalization that all Muslims are terrorist despite not really understanding anything about the religion.

Now, I know that if I were to talk and connect with 100 people who practice the Islam religion that more likely than not none of them would be terrorist or even have the intention of hurting anyone. In fact, every person that I have come to know who follow the religion are some of the most insightful and caring people I have had the pleasure of knowing. So much for all Muslims wanting to hurt us!

I believe that I this lack of understanding ultimately leads to sweeping generalizations which then leads to fear. It is when this lack of understanding leads to fear that hate has the potential to form. However, it is when we actively choose to not understand what we are afraid of and make decisions about whatever it is causing us fear. It is when we react out of this fear and continue to not understand our fear, that hate forms.

We must take a step back though and realize that fear is not rational so we can not make a logical argument to someone who is fearful of something. This also applies to hate, we cannot give a logical reason for someone to not hate what it is that the person hates. 

So what can we do about hate?

We are not able to control the actions of others. Let alone convince them to face their fears (assuming that a person's hate stems from fear and lack of understanding). Some people don't want to face their fears. But we do posses ownership over our own fears and actions. It has been in my experience we as human beings must commit ourselves to dealing and working through our fears and come to a deep understanding and appreciation. That is not to say that we should ignore our fears or make them smaller than what they really are to ourselves. What I am trying to get say is that in order for us to prevent becoming so hateful we must take full responsibility for our actions and move forward through our fears.

In order to reduce the amount of hate that is in the world today, it must start from within us. It begins with a desire to understand what it is that we fear. Many many years ago fear served a purpose (it could even still serve a purpose such as to avoid danger). The question that need to be asked is "Does my fear serve myself or others in a non hateful way? Am I in immediate danger or do I make devastating generalizations and decisions from my own fear?"

Questions? Comments?