Accentuate the Positive - Not the Negative (a Philosophical view of life and Love)

Accepting love and rejecting hatred should not be a life long struggle.

Love should be taught as a basic way of life, not hatred as religion embraces and dictates it to their blind faith followers.

Our Creator should represent love, never hatred.

For a "true" God is incapable of hating his own creations.

Perhaps.

This is in response to some of the negative and hateful name calling i have been receiving in the comments section of my most 'controversial' articles.

Being brought up to not hate or judge other people for any reason, has been one of the basic foundations of my existence It has been difficult at times, to maintain this belief.

Our parents taught us that there is good in every person.They were progressive in their thinking long before logical rationalization was accepted by the intellectual mainstream.

Back in those days the norm was to follow the church dogma - grossly rigid, stagnant, biased, and based on that old control factor that one would hope, would have been eradicated from the modern world by this time in history.

We are all multi-facted when it comes to our personalities and our core beliefs, or at lease we should be..

When a person starts name calling, and passing judgement on others because they are 'different', it is truly difficult to hold onto those core beliefs.

No one should be defined by their religious, their political beliefs, or their sexual orientation. Just as they should not be defined by the color of their skin, their national origin or physical appearance.

People are all beautiful in our own way. The the principle of.... "there, but for the grace of God, go I" ... should be our main mantra when we see the ugliness surface in others around us.

There is usually no problem in putting these things in their proper perspective.

Having lived a rather sheltered existence, with limited interactions with people on a personal basis, has kept away the biases and hatred generally associated with the judging of others.

Having a working career that focuses on another person's 'well being', tends to encourage one to only adopt a specifically aimed sense of responsibility toward their health problems; and away from anything of a personal nature.

Since the onset of writing on this site, viewing the complexities of other people has taken on a whole new light.

It is causing difficulty in discerning what is acceptable behavior, versus the right of the individual to bring bias and hatred into the equation. And it becomes necessary to re-examine other aspects of people's personalities that greatly effect, and harm, those that they target with their hateful and negative words.

My personal core beliefs have always been non-judgmental.

However, as of late, patience tends to slip away. It is being replaced with the inclination to attempt to "correct" what our personal perceptions see as hurtful and hateful attitudes from others; directed toward those that they disagree with. (and that seem to be mostly projected towards me as i voice controversial views on life, and tend to be an advocate for the minorities and the down trodden in our society).

There was recently a comment on one of my articles that necessitated a reminding of that core belief that my parents gave me as a child.

In an attempt to explain the reasoning, for my belief that all people are entitled to equal rights under the law, i found myself apologizing for my own beliefs and for being who i truly am.

Not wanting to be influenced by those negative comments, or being called hateful names, causes one to judge others by expecting them to possess the same core values that i do. And i suspect that also applies vice versa.

What needs constant self reminding (realizing) is that everyone is/was brought up with their own set of core values.

If , and when, we encounter someone with core values filled with hatred and bias, there is not too much we can do about that, except try to not fall into that same trap alongside of them. And just as important, to also express to them, that this behavior is NOT acceptable in our life.

It is easier to lash back at someone for their hurtful and hateful words, but it also sours one's own perspective in doing so.

It is imperative therefore, to maintain my own personal dignity, and write honestly from my own heart and from my own perspectives. With the realization that people are who, and what, they are, and will not be changed unless, or until, something in their life, lights that candle of understanding, and they are able to accept all other people for who, and what, they really are, without constantly judging them.

Our Creator gave us free will. Free to receive input into our brains, examine the data from that input, and put it in the proper logical perspective, and reach a logical rational conclusion. This can be very difficult for people who have the mind set that they are the only one with the correct views on life, even while knowing that those beliefs are not based on anything but the biased input into their minds, by the biased people, who taught them.

Trying to use satire, or sarcasm, or irony to make a point is obviously wasted on those who do not understand its concept. So, i will, in the future, direct my writings to logic and rationality that most people will be able to grasp and understand. When i use sarcasm, i will note it for what it is, so there will be no misunderstanding that this is not my actual belief, but rather a poke at those who do not see, or display, any logic at all in their words or actions.

I am not apologizing for any of my articles. That would imply they are erroneous. I will give a different perspective on things without pushing my personal opinions on others, as best i can. Albeit, sometimes opinions are the only way to point out some things you want "highlighted" in your conversation.

Being old and retired from public life, does not stop one from learning new things every day. Yes, it would be nice to see peace and harmony among people, but realize that this will never totally happen in my lifetime.

I have always avoided the subjects of religion and politics and by doing so, never had to put people into certain categories. Hate is hate, and love is love, and never the twains shall meet. I will continue to voice my opinions, as concluded from logical reasoning, based on all facts at hand.

I will not be stagnant, or silenced, or stop my quest for knowledge, truth, equality and justice for all of people - as equals. For the truth is, that in spite of the fact that some people really think they are better than others; they are not.

We are all born equal, but become the sum total of the input that we are subjected to. Nothing more, nothing less. What we choose to do with this input data is up to each of us; that individual we were born to be.

Becoming a product of our environment is a choice that many make, as it is much easier than actively acquiring knowledge and applying logic.

And hatred, it seems, is easier to justify than love and understanding.

by: d.william 11/29/10