No, Hatred is Not Winning

Yes, there are some really miserable human beings doing some incredibly cruel things to a whole lot of people—many from Senate seats and mega church pulpits and capitol buildings and television studios. This gives their vitriol a megaphone, it magnifies their enmity, it earns their sickness greater bandwidth than it deserves. The venom those relatively few people produce commandeers the headlines and writes the loud narrative of impending disaster. It’s a story you read and re-read all day long. It becomes gospel truth. But that is not the whole story. It is not your story, or mine, or the story of tens of millions of people like us who are profoundly disturbed right now; those of us sick to our stomachs and moved to tears. We are furious, and that fury is an alarm ringing out in the center of our chests. In that place, hatred is not winning. In that place, love and goodness are trending. In that place, life is defiantly breaking out. In that place, hope is a rising flood. Take a look in the mirror, friend. You are living proof that hatred is not winning. In the story you are writing here—good, compassionate, open-hearted people still walk the planet. Don’t underestimate this. In the hearts of hateful people, yes hatred is winning. In those continually consumed with contempt for others, yes violence is trending. In the lives of those who get up every day seeking to do damage, yes, the bad people are winning. But this is not who you are. And as exhausted and disheartened and terrified as you are—there are millions upon millions who are similarly burdened. Take a look in the mirror and remember that there, hatred is not winning. Notice the people in your news feed who give you reason to keep going. Realize that in them, hatred is not winning. Think about the people you see being brave and selfless and compassionate, and remember that because of them, hatred is not winning. Look across the room or through the contacts on your phone or next to you at dinner, and remember that hatred is not winning there. As long as the heart of decent people is still beating—hope lives. Put your hand on your chest and be reminded. Be encouraged. OCTOBER 30, 2022 / JOHN PAVLOVITZ No, Hatred is Not Winning https://johnpavlovitz.com/2022/10/30/no-hatred-is-not-winning/