...and the Anti-O'Bama Hate E-mails Keep Coming

Nobody is as prolific at creating and spreading "hate" e-mails as the right-wing ideologues in this country are, and now that Barack O'Bama is leading the race for the Democratic Presidential nomination, right-wing hate-mongers have focused their high-powered machinery on him. I've received a slew of anti-O'Bama hate e-mails in my mailbox this week, and I'm sad to report that many have stooped to a new low in hateful content.

Hatred sickens me. It pollutes the human experience. When I see e-mail cartoons that represent nothing more than hatred wrapped in caricatured form, I have the same reaction.

When hatred infects politics, it becomes even more dangerous because it provides whole societies with excuses for attacking or eradicating others. Arab cartoons, for example, often advocate the killing of Jews and the extermination of Israel...and the "overt" quality of their cartoons openly telegraphs the message that Jewish people are worthless and eradicating them from the world would be a good thing. U.S. cartoons, on the other hand, are way more subtle in their conveyance of hatred, which in some respects, can do far more damage because the reader does not immediately recognize the hate message, but takes it in, and ever so slowly has their normal defenses to hatred eaten away. Unfortunately, however a message is spread, whether subtly or overtly, the damage it causes is widely felt.

The term, "political correctness" has acquired a negative connotation in this country, but the underlying aim of the term, to encourage people to consider how their acts and what they say will affect those who hear and see them, is a goal worth pursuing since the practice fosters a harmonious existence for everybody.

When "PC" meets resistance, very often it's because folks don't want to recognize, or deal with the discomfort of recognizing their own personal stereotypes...or simply don't want to change their viewpoint because they like the way it makes them feel.

The point I am trying to make here is that, far too often in our lives, hate seems to be acceptable as long as it's not directed towards us, and we're willing to turn a blind eye towards hate so long as we're not in its ugly cross-hairs. I personally find that condition unacceptable, as I recognize that hate, in all its ugly forms, is nothing short of a cancerous growth on the soul of humankind.