The words of hate and fear
fall so readily from our lips,
as if a dark spirit
trapped inside our souls
demands to be set loose
so to spread its ugly seed
upon the world.
The words are uttered
almost without thought,
followed by a 'knowing' look
or a laugh of derision,
and the unspoken challenge
to assert ones separation from the accused,
to join the
'I'm not one of them' club.
And, so the 'other' is created
from words spoken out of ignorance
and fear,
from our need to be
accepted
and our willingness to
sacrifice the 'other'
so to win that acceptance.
Yet, contempt breeds contempt.
Like a viscious bacteria,
fed by the warm, liquid environment
of fear and intolerance,
the dark spirit gains strength.
And,
this dark spirit is an
equal opportunity scourge.
The words, so finely sharpened
and directed at the 'other'
can, without cause or warning,
be directed toward oneself.
And now,
all the hard work of complicity
against the 'other'
matters not,
for it is oneself
who stands behind the barriers
of intolerance, and watches
as others collude to build it
so high that they
never
have to bear witness,
or take responsibility,
for the anguish
their words create
in our lives.
These words,
spoken often enough
and by a critical mass
of people
harden into the bitter shell
of prejudice,
providing safety to the
fear and intolerance
hidden therein.
From whence does hate arise?
Why does enmity thrive in this human animal?
How can we transform this dark spirit
into the love and light
we each yearn to experience
in our own lives?
Perhaps, one step can be
to bear witness to the
dark spirit that strives
to make itself known
through our own words.
Perhaps another step could be
to focus our energies on
understanding this dark spirit
within ourselves,
to love it and heal it,
to transform it to light
through love...
and then,
to set loose that light
upon the world,
one word at a time.
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