Hate

It seems that Facebook has taken a lot of the steam out of my blogging, but this morning I'm finding myself thinking about hate.

I've noticed in the last few weeks that somehow the meaning of this word has been radically re-defined.

Let's start with the dictionary definition:

hate

 [heyt] Show IPA verb, hat·ed, hat·ing, noun

verb (used with object)
 

1. to dislike intensely or passionately; feel extreme aversion for or extreme hostility toward; detest. 

(examples of usage: to hate the enemy; to hate bigotry.)
 

2. to be unwilling; dislike. (example of usage: I hate to do it.)

"Hate" is a nasty word.  And the actual presence of it is at the root of a great many of the world's evils.

So now ... though ... the definition has shifted, and it seems that the word is used more or less to mean "disagree with."  

So, if I take any position on any issue that implies that others are wrong.  Or worse yet, implies that I believe that others are DOING wrong, I'm "hating."

Sorry ... friends ... not only is that NOT "hate", but it cheapens the word.   
  

History has SHOWN us hate.  To lump someone who's expressing disagreement, or even condemnation, in the same camp with those who have committed genocide, is insane.  (so, yes, I suppose I'm "hating" there.  I seem prone to it, apparently).  

 When we use the word this way, we're implying that strong disagreement will automatically lead to animosity, or worse yet, violence.  But if people don't disagree, and don't discuss, then there is no refinement of ideas.  We never realize WHY people hold the positions they do, and we don't learn to know them as individuals, rather than stereotypes.

The fear of "hating" creates far more distance between people, than it would if we simply looked in one another's eyes and said, "I think you're wrong."