To the editor:
Just as an earthquake shakes the ground beneath us, changes in our society shake up our way of life. These changes come from new technologies, people moving from place to place, the economy, and so on. Although these changes can make us feel unsure at times, they are part of living in a community that’s always growing and changing, helping us all to survive together.
How does community help us survive? Each person adds to our lives in different ways. Technicians operate the power plants that light our homes. Pilots fly the airplanes that take us to faraway destinations. Engineers run the internet. Doctors help us heal. Musicians perform our favorite songs.
Each of our lives is interconnected tightly with everyone else’s. We rely on people to do for us what we either cannot or will not do ourselves. Our quality of life depends on our participation within a vast community.
However, some groups of people are not comfortable with changes in our social structure, and they lash out in anger. They promote beliefs that other people are evil; that they want to do terrible things to your children; that they spread chaos, disease and destruction. The end result is hatred.
The problem is that hatred eats away at the connections that bond our community. Why would you hate the person that generates your electricity, or flies your airplane, or runs your Internet connection, or removes your appendix, or sings your favorite song? When a person subscribes to hate, he lashes out at these very people. He wields a sword that cuts the bonds holding him in a safety net of comfort and survival.
The bottom line is that we don’t have to hate each other. Hatred divides us as a nation, and it ultimately destroys us. We don’t have to love each other either, but we should respect each other and appreciate what each of us does. And we have to work together to repair the flaws in the fabric that holds us all together, because if any part of the fabric fails, it can create a tear that rips through the entire cloth.
The Kentucky State Motto echoes a concept that’s been around since ancient Greece and is as relevant today as anytime throughout history: “United we stand, divided we fall.”
Let’s not hate each other.
Editor’s note: Roth is a candidate running for Missouri’s 8th District, U.S. House of Representatives. Filing for the Aug. 6 primary election ends March 26.
