DO YOU THINK YOU KNOW THE "GOLDEN RULE?"
Below is one translation of the full verses from Leviticus where the "Golden Rule" originates from.
Most of us are only aware of the last portion of the verse. "...love your neighbor as yourself." However, the beginning is an essential lead up.
LEVITICUS:
Verse 17
You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your fellow, but you shall not bear a sin on his account. יזלֹֽא־תִשְׂנָ֥א אֶת־אָחִ֖יךָ בִּלְבָבֶ֑ךָ הוֹכֵ֤חַ תּוֹכִ֨יחַ֙ אֶת־עֲמִיתֶ֔ךָ וְלֹֽא־תִשָּׂ֥א עָלָ֖יו חֵֽטְא:
Verse 18
You shall neither take revenge from nor bear a grudge against the members of your people; you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.
יחלֹֽא־תִקֹּ֤ם וְלֹֽא־תִטֹּר֙ אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י עַמֶּ֔ךָ וְאָֽהַבְתָּ֥ לְרֵֽעֲךָ֖ כָּמ֑וֹךָ אֲנִ֖י יְהוָֹֽה:
Have some taken hate for President Trump "into their heart" and nurtured a grudge?
When we hate our fellow in our heart and nurture a grudge, that hate leads to a powerful anger. When that happens it can cause us to take sin upon ourselves and to seek revenge.
IMPORTANT: Before I go any further, I want to preface what I am about to say. This article is NOT intended to vilify or defend anyone. I am trying to offer an a non-political paradigm for seeing matters. I respectfully ask readers to suspend judgment of the character and actions of the my subject's people and parties.
In my opinion the underlying source of the hate in America today is the result of dysfunctional processing of the "GRIEF" over Hillary's "loss" in the 2016 Presidential election. Let me explain.
The night Hillary lost the 2016 Presidential election, for many Americans it was as though they suffered a death. Trump killed Hillary, metaphorically speaking. The fact that Hillary didn't come out for a concession speech the night she lost was ironically very fitting.
When people see Hillary today, it is profoundly like seeing a ghost.Art & Culture have a particular nature of capturing public sentiments. During Saturday Night Live’s cold open the week of the election, SNL featured a surprising departure from the show’s typical humor about the presidential race. In character as Hillary Clinton, Kate McCinnon performed a mournful rendition of “Hallelujah.”
(Note: Leonard Cohen had passed that week so there was already a sence of grief and morning in the air.)
Adding insult to injury, Trump supporters celebrate the loss of Hillary. The deplorables applaud him for killing her right to be President. When Trump supporters speak of "winning," Hillary supporters take it profoundly personally.
Grieving is a psychological process with several stages. Shock > Denial > Anger > Acceptance.
A psychological problem comes about when one gets stuck at any stage in the grieving process.
Grief begins with shock. Hillary supporters and the media couldn't believe Hillary lost the Presidential election. It was like getting heart piercing news of a fatal car crash involving someone dear. Hillary's supporters entered the first stage of grief - shock.
Shortly after that the mourners (Hillary supporters) moved to the second stage of the grieving process. They went from shock to denial. That's when we heard "not my president" and so many citizens became "never Trumpers."
After denial grief moves to anger. Heaven knows that happened. Americans were outraged. The attitude was that Trump must have stolen the election. Russia must have helped him! That happened nearly three years ago. America has been stuck there ever since.
So many Hillary supporters have not moved past anger to acceptance - the last stage. They are stuck at anger.
That anger has been perpetuated and fostered by Hollywood stars, celebrity entertainers, the media and news, politicians, the Party and Deep State actors like Comey and others. That anger has festered and morphed into full blown hate - a hate that is deep in the heart.
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There is a ton of material regarding the ways people cope with hate. Check out this paper on Understanding and Overcoming Hate.
"Denial is a defense mechanism frequently employed by the mind to cope with painful, uncomfortable, or embarrassing aspects of our psyche."
Side note: All media and politicians exploit emotion. That is the nature of what they do!
