Hate Is The Root Of The World’s Evil, And We Must Do Our Part To Eliminate It (For Good)

We come together after tragedies when we should be proactive and do our job in preventing them.

By

John S. Quarterman
John S. Quarterman

Every morning I read the news, and it does not take long before I am inundated with posts on news outlets and all over social media about how another senseless crime has taken place and how someone somewhere has lost a loved one or a friend.

Soon after, the internet, press, and papers blow up in wild debates over gun control or confiscation. From a mass shooting in Orlando, to terrorist attacks in Paris, to the struggle between Israel and Palestine that is responsible for the loss of countless innocent lives, to the civil war in Syria, and to the endless conflicts brewing around the clock I cannot help but be saddened, heartbroken, and disappointed by the fact that we overlook the real reason behind the ever growing increase of violent crime.

We can ban guns, we can stop selling them, and we confiscate them, but first and foremost we need to fix the route of the problem: hate.

Hate has become so deeply rooted in our culture over the past couple of decades that we have become numb by the overexposure.

What frustrates me, even more, is the fact that we choose to ignore it and act as if we are not a part of the problem when in some way shape or form we are all to blame.

Tell me that you have not looked at another individual and passed judgment based on the color of their skin, their sexual orientation, or their religion and then we can discuss how you are an exception to the rule.

We act as if we have been wired this way, and I do not understand why. Why are we saying to our fellow brothers, sisters, friends, family and strangers alike that who they are is unacceptable. Of course, we are all different.

But being different does not change the fact that your skin is just as beautiful as my skin or that your voice is just as important as my voice and above all that your life is just as important as my life.

We come together after tragedies when we should be proactive and do our job in preventing them.

I am not telling you to fight violence with violence, but take a stand and make the world a better place by starting with yourself. It does not matter how old you are or how young you are; it is never too late to change the way you see the world and others.

We are all here together and need to learn to coexist by exercising patience, by being understanding, and refusing to let this life be one that is riddled by hateful thoughts and actions.

What happened to the days where parents could safely send their kids to school to get an education without the fear that at any given moment that their child could be in danger? Since when did we accept that it is a luxury to be able to go out and enjoy ourselves or the company of another in a public setting and make it home okay? Also, since when did we allow hate to manifest itself and become a part of our being?

I refuse to be a part of the problem, and you should too.

So the next time even the smallest judgmental or possibly hurtful thought surfaces catch yourself and be bigger than that; learn to unlearn hate.

Refuse to live with blinders or in a cloud of negativity that contributes to the problem but choose to be the solution. Be the person who thinks before they decide to leave a hateful comment, be the individual that accepts others with open arms, and be the voice of this generation that spews nothing but love because it is never too late to be the change you want to see in the world. Thought Catalog Logo Mark