Polluting the mind of a child with hate is criminal. It’s as hideous a form of abuse as beating or sexually abusing him/her. It colors his world view, through a prism of darkness, and scars the child forever.
Babies, for the most part, are born innocent. They come into this world with curiosity and a healthy hunger to learn. As children grow older they look to the adults in their lives to teach them right from wrong, and to fill their minds with knowledge. They are not born with hate in their hearts. Hating others is not an inherent characteristic of the human psyche, it is something that is taught, passed down from generation to generation. If a child hears his parents claiming they hate Blacks or Hispanics or Jews or Hindus or whatever, the child is eventually going to learn to hate them as well. That hatred is eventually going to grab hold of their tiny, tender little hearts and poison their minds. Children are very impressionable, so what we feed their minds will shape who they become as adults. Some parents might not realize the affect all that negativity is having on their child, and they can be somewhat forgiven for their ignorance. It’s the parents that consciously and deliberately indoctrinate their children with hate- the ones who go out of their way to teach their children to revile others- that are not forgivable. Ever. They are no better than criminals, because they have made a conscious choice to pollute the mind of their child- like the white supremacists who teach their children to hate anyone who isn’t white, believing the white race is superior to any other. Or the Palestinian parents who instill into the minds of their children hatred for Jews and other non-Muslims.
Even more heinous is state-sponsored hatred via TV programmes and interviews.
When they get it at home, at school and on their television sets, what hope is there for the salvation of mankind?
Our children are the future. What legacy do we leave our kids when we teach them to hate others; to hate those who are of a different religion, race or socio-economic status? We were all created equal, in the eyes of GOD. No ONE person is any better than another. We are a brotherhood of man, let’s start acting as brothers and sisters, not enemies. Let’s start acting like human beings not animals.
How do we do that? By teaching our young
1. to love one another, that more can be accomplished through love than hate
2. to treat everyone with dignity and respect, regardless of race, religion or status
3. that spirituality/religion is a means to perfect one’s Soul, to make us better people, not a means to force man-made rules on us
4. that there are many religious and spiritual paths, and all must be respected. That their religion is not the only path to God
5. that the way to prove a point is not through violence and aggression, but through dialogue
6. that it is far nobler to share than to covet and be selfish- there is plenty in this world for everyone
But before we can teach our children to be loving, productive human beings, we need to tear out the roots of hatred from within our own hearts. We need to carefully watch what we say and do. We need to set aside our differences and become better role models. If we continue down the same path we have been traveling, we are condemning our children and the world, as we know it, to death.
Teach your kid to love not hate!
(Hate Is the Only Enemy bummper sticker available here)
