HATE IN AMERICA

Hate is an intense, hostile emotion that fixates on destroying, rejecting, or devaluing someone or something. It tends to narrow perspective, reducing complex people and situations to one-dimensional enemies, which makes cruelty and injustice easier to justify. Carried over time, hate often harms the person who feels it, feeding bitterness, stress, and a sense of constant inner agitation. It spreads quickly through groups and communities, turning differences into threats and fueling discrimination or violence. Because it closes the door to curiosity, empathy, and nuance, hate blocks understanding and makes healing and genuine change much harder to achieve. 

Let us review just five of the most egregious aspects of hate.

1.     Dehumanization - It turns other people into objects or enemies instead of full human beings. This is also a precondition to slavery.

2.     Psychological self‑poisoning - Over time, this can contribute to anxiety, depression, obsessive thinking, and a general inability to feel peace or joy. Hateful people are not happy. Hate encourages distrust, even of those you should trust.

3.     Breakdown of relationships and communities -   It fractures families, friendships, and whole communities by turning differences into battle lines instead of opportunities for understanding or cooperation. Hate undermines trust and makes genuine dialogue nearly impossible.

4.     Escalation into violence and injustice - When hate is acted on, it can lead to harassment, abuse, hate crimes, and even large‑scale atrocities like ethnic cleansing or genocide.

5.     Blindness to truth and growth - Hate makes people cling to rigid beliefs and stereotypes, ignoring evidence or experiences that might challenge their view. A life without empathy and personal growth is in your future.  

Recall the words of Belgian detective Hercule Poirot in the mystery by Agatha Christy, ”Death on the Nile,” when he suggests to the future murderer, “Do not let hate into your heart, for it will make a home there.”