In an August 11 New York Times column, Frank Bruni comments on hate – “Its sprawl is as demoralizing as its staying power.” Bruni notes elsewhere in the article: “In movies, songs, and greeting cards, I’m always hearing or seeing that love is forever and that it conquers all. Well, hate may be even more durable, and it has the muscle to fight love to a draw.”
I understand Bruni’s frustration, and in the short term maybe a draw is the best one can hope for in the battle between love and hate. Still, it seems clear that returning hate for hate is a lose/lose proposition. In this I am reminded of a couple of quotes. From David Wilcox’s song, Show the Way: “If someone wrote the play, just to glorify what’s stronger than hate, would they not arrange the stage, to look as if the hero came to late?” And from Martin Luther King, Jr.: ““Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”
It is already plenty dark. Be a star.
It occurs to me... 