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HATE. ANGER. PREJUDICE. RACISM. VIOLENCE. ABUSE. RAPE. MURDER. INTOLERANCE.
In our schools, communities, countries, religions, politics, beliefs and behaviour – the cultures of fear, anger, hate and intolerance have pervaded every facet of our world.
If we fail to grasp how others think, if we fear what others think, if others do not think like us, we don’t merely disagree, we don’t just refuse to engage in pursuing a common cause, WE HATE.
As a species, we hate so intensely, so viscerally, we incite and perpetrate the most heinous of crimes – we kill, murder, rape and abuse. WE HATE.
We walk into places of prayer and gun people down. We throw people from moving cars. We stone people in public. We burn people alive. We kill on the basis of colour, of gender, of religion. We kill for things. WE HATE.
We condemn and incite with barbarity and words. We use portals of global influence – those very creations that break down global barriers – to peddle hate, to conspire to hate, to divide.
We live in a world of abundance, of innovation, of art, of creativity, of faith and belief in a creator, of the wonder of life and, still, WE HATE.
In the 21st century, we can see the billion burning stars of another galaxy, travel to distant planets, live longer, see more, hear more, watch more, and learn more than at any other time in our species’ history and, still, WE HATE.
In a world drowning in the rise of political and social populism, of the rhetoric of hate, we must rise above ourselves and engage in our world as a collective to pursue a fairer and shared future.
Heinous acts of terrorism like the one we saw in New Zealand this week should prompt all of us to work towards eliminating hate and building that shared future.
At home, this will mean repudiating hate speech, incitement and prejudice in all their forms, regardless of where they emanate from.
