The Rhetoric of Hate

I sit here watching the news and every story is filled with unhappiness, hate, violence, etc. I watch the loss of civility of our elected officials and am not surprised when the average person mirrors this. We have a tough time ahead of us in this country right now...unemployment is up, prices are on the rise, the economy has hit record lows and people are trying harder now than they have in decades just to make ends meet. I watch the debates going on in Congress and the budget and health care are at the forefront. I watch highly educated men point fingers and sink to the level of calling names and spouting hate. Hate, that is based on the fact that someone else has a different idea, philosophy, way of thinking, or just because they belong to another political party than you. These are men and women that we have chosen to lead us , to be the voice for us and to make decisions for us that will affect every aspect of our way of life. But these people seem to have forgotten their way, they push through their personal agendas, cater to the highest bidder, and act like petulant children if they don't get their way. THIS HAS TO STOP.
Recently there was a horrible tragedy in Arizona, innocent people were hurt, killed, and had their lives changed forever. All of this occurred because one deranged individual decided for one reason or the other that it was his duty to kill. I watch the news show our elected officials arguing, pointing fingers...Democrats blaming Republicans for not being tough on guns, Republicans blaming Democrats for being to lax on laws that keep people like this off the street, one group telling another how terrible it is but it is not their fault it's the other guys fault. I watch Sarah Palin come on and say how hurt she is because people say she is at fault because she showed cross-hairs on that political district and how horribly this is affecting her life. OK here is who's fault it is....it is the fault of the person who pulled the trigger...no one made him do it, his deranged way of thinking did it. We need to quit trying to blame everyone else for the problems going on and trying to make ourselves into victims. People like Sarah Palin, and these congressmen and women who come out and try to point fingers and say how hurt they are are nothing more than a bunch of media whores, selling themselves and their values to the highest bidders. Do you want to know who really was hurt? How about a woman who is in a hospital fighting for her life after being shot in the head? How about the parents and family of a little 9 year old girl who only wanted to see one of her heroes? Or the other numerous people whose families will never be the same as their loved ones were hurt or killed?
We have lost our way as a country, a society, and as a world in general. I grew up being taught that no one is the same as anyone else, yet I watch as all over the world hate for that which is different is taught. Humans are not supposed to be homogeneous, it is not in our DNA. We are all different for a reason. This country was founded by people fleeing oppression, and wanting to make a better place, and yes we have made mistakes, and we are not perfect but we are who we are.
"Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"...have we forgotten what this means? This was an open invitation to the world..letting them know that if you were oppressed, yearning for a better life, wanting to make a safe place, a wonderful place for your family, the Land of Opportunity was where you needed to go. However, now I listen to people say that we need to build fences, we need to keep out foreigners, we needs to stop letting people come....why? When you hear these things do you realise that you are spouting the same hate that has been spouted by the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei...or better known as Nazi's. This is the same hate spouted by Osama bin Muhammad bin Awad bin Laden as he issues a fatwa against all non-Muslims (which is not an embraced feeling by most Muslims, as it is a religion that teaches peace and acceptance). The same hate spouted by David Duke, ex-Grand Dragon of the KKK, who has made claims that many Tea Party members want him to run for president. If we as a country are going to continue on this path then we truly have lost our way.
We spend more money on trying to close or borders in many states than we spend on education and health care. When did this become the norm? If we educate our children better, if we take care of our ill, and mentally ill, better, and if we remember that we are all different, and accept these differences then thing WILL begin to change for the better. I stated earlier that our DNA is meant to have differences. Think about this...if it was not we would not have different looks, skin colors, sexual choices, or even religions, thoughts and languages. We would all be the exact same. So when you look at the person next to you and you realise that they are different, then also realise this is because that is how it was meant to be. It is not "love thy neighbor as you love thyself"...but only if they are the same as you. There is no stipulation...God, Buddha, Mohamed, Nature, Gaea...whatever you believe in...all teach the same thing..accept the differences, love people for those differences, and we are all equal.
As I leave you today remember these things:

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”-Martin Luther King, Jr.

“The formless Absolute is my Father, and God with form is my Mother.” God reveals Himself in the form which His devotee loves most. His love for the devotee knows no bounds.
- Ramakrishna

"The sun never says to the earth, 'You owe me.' Look what happens with a love like that. It lights up the whole sky." - the poet Hafiz

"I searched for God and found only myself. I searched for myself and found only God". -Sufi proverb