Hate will keep reproducing until you stop it
Hate begets hate. This is a universal truth that can be seen in history, in literature, in social media and in our day-to-day lives. You reap what you sow.
What is the answer? How do we get off this Möbius loop of vengeance and retribution? Because hate only begets more hate, the answer is simple: Don’t hate.
A.M. CERRA, MARIETTA
We can reject violent influences, hateful speech
The tragic shooting of Charlie Kirk illustrates once again that we are living in a culture of violence. Violence permeates the TV shows and movies that we watch, the games that we play, the nightly news we watch and, of course, social media.
With so much at stake, why does nothing change? Perhaps one reason is that many people are making a good deal of money from our fascination with violence. In addition, fear and rage are great political motivators.
I am haunted by this quote from Irene Weiss, survivor of Auschwitz, in an interview with Anderson Cooper: “The most dangerous animal in the world is man. Other animals will hurt you if they’re hungry, but man can turn into an animal in no time, in minutes. The instinct to kill is so strong. All he needs is permission from society.”
With permission, humans are capable of unthinkable cruelty and violence. But I have to believe that we are also capable of choice. We can reject the violent influences and hateful speech that draw us to the dark side of our nature.
Kudos to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and his wise counsel to “log off, turn off, touch the grass, hug a family member, go out and do good in your community.” He was speaking to the young people in his state, but it is good advice for all of us.
KARAN KENNEDY, ATLANTA
Political power should be kept in perspective
The reflections offered by Jim VandeHei brought to mind a commonly noted shortcoming of civil rights laws — they are ultimately incapable of changing people’s attitudes and beliefs.
This tells me that even if we had perfect leaders who passed only perfect laws there would still remain much for us as individuals to do to bring about the right kind of world. Fortunately, these are things we can do regardless of the kind of government we have (even if it is true that the government we live under can make doing these things easier or more difficult).
Thus, as a supplement to the changes VandeHei recommends, I suggest that when it comes to politics, all of us try to keep things in the proper perspective. Political power can never, by itself, bring us to where we want to go. It clearly seems that only by keeping this kind of perspective can we stop seeing our political opponents as grave existential dangers and actually succeed in lowering the overall political temperature. It is hard to see why anyone would not want that outcome.
SANJAY LAL, STOCKBRIDGE
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