Only Love Can Conquer Hate
If, as the title of British composer David Health’s song says “Only Love Can Conquer Hate,” I wonder if there is any hope for our world. It seems love in its truest unconditional form is now an endangered species. Oh sure, there are plenty of good-willed, unselfish, genuinely loving people in this world today, but they seem to be outnumbered by the angry, selfish, hate-filled people who insist on having their way at all costs.
I see the face of hatred in all of its ugliness everywhere. It’s worn worldwide by people who can’t see beyond the color of their own skin, who can’t hear beyond their own social, religious and political narrowness, and who can’t speak positively about anyone who doesn’t share their way of life. It’s worn by people who inflict violence with their words and deeds in the name of God and patriotism. It is the face of evil personified.
Hatred has become a virus, a modern-day black plague scorching the lives of millions as it engulfs our world. It has ravaged the sanctity of human life. Millions of innocent people are callously murdered across the globe year after year, and no one really cares. If we really cared we’d finally say “Enough is enough. This has to end—NOW.” But we haven’t. We simply lay low, hoping the violence of hatred will fly past us without causing too much damage to our own little worlds.
Well, hatred hit my little world yesterday when U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and a dozen others were brutally shot down at a public meeting. I find this type of violence unacceptable in modern American society. For those who died yesterday, it was an act of violence against their sacred right to life itself. We should be able to gather with elected officials in our communities without fear. We should be able to agree to disagree and still be civil and understanding toward each other. We should be able to honor the image and likeness of God that we each represent, despite our differences. And love should conquer hate, but sadly, hate has conquered love once again in our world.
There is no justification for the anger, the hatred and the violence that has raged across this country between people of different viewpoints. There is a three-pronged threat here to everyone’s freedom and safety: 1) the criminal-minded who have easy access to deadly weapons; 2) average citizens (as well as the mentally unstable) who own guns and insist on their right to take the law into their own hands; and 3) political leaders who promote violence against their opponents by targeting them on maps with shotgun cross-hairs, or who host fundraisers on shooting ranges and invite their supports to come and pretend to shoot their opponents with real guns and ammunition.
As someone who has spent much time promoting the Scriptural message of “Love Does No Harm,” I am greatly saddened today. As is often the case, there has been an overwhelming outpouring of love, prayer and concern over this great national tragedy. Lives have been lost and lives are hanging in the balance: Lives that can never be replaced. This public outcry needs to be more, however, than just an outpouring of love that simply fades into the night over the coming weeks. It needs to resonate in the hearts of all Americans. It needs to resurrect the true God-given love that we all profess to have within our hearts. It needs to unite us all in proclaiming “Enough is enough. We will no longer tolerate hatred and violence in our society!” And this love needs to reach a fever pitch that converts and unites all American hearts under the common banner of “Love one another as I have loved you.”
Then, hopefully, love will conquer hatred in our society, and we will stand united despite our differences of opinions, and we will honor God by honoring each other; for God is never honored through hatred or violence and no one is ever justified before God in their acts of hatred or violence. Please pledge with me today to stand for all that is right and good and holy; all that is of love and mercy and forgiveness; all that is of God. In doing so, in being truly loving people, we will allow our souls to shine and we will make this world a better, safer place for all people!
Yesterday's act is not terrorism inflicted by Americans nor is it an act against the right to assemble. It is a random act by an unstable young man who – frankly – doesn’t know his ass from a hot rock. This type of mindless, hateful act has blighted humanity in the past, does today and will continue to blight us in the future. I believe we are helpless to prevent random acts of violence. People who have an intention to commit an act of abominable violence will find away despite our best intentions. I believe this young man – like countless others – might have been better served by attending your CoDA. For that very reason, it is incumbent upon us to advertise and promote CoDA. Hate conquers love in our world only when we allow it to. To let this random act stand as an obstacle in the way of love … that is a travesty. As it’s said, “Failure isn’t falling down. Failure is not getting up.” I am no more afraid to live in America than anywhere else is in the world. Father Santa quotes Mahatma Gandhi in Santa’s book Desert Graces, “There is nothing that wastes the body like worry, and one who has any faith in God should be ashamed to worry about anything whatsoever.” We have no need to be afraid; that very statement appears over and over in the Gospels: “Do not be afraid.” If one feels afraid, I strongly recommend Anne Frank’s remedy – as quoted in Father Santa’s book – “The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature.” And this, from a young, innocent girl who lived and died in Hitler’s holocaust. Love can and will conquer hatred. You four horsemen preach it every day at the Redemptorist Center. I believe you.
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