Love wins.
I hear this phrase a lot in relationship to the present state of the world in general and in relationship to specific incidents of prejudice.
Love wins.
I don't like the sense of burden this places on someone who is the victim of some other person's hatred. I think that the idea that love trumps hate is dangerous. I smiling face and a hand open in greeting is no match for a clench fist swung with accuracy and fury. I don't.
Defiance wins.
Anger wins.
Resistance wins.
I agree more with these with the proviso that love is behind each of them.
Defiance gives love power to stand up to or, in my case, stare down those whose hatred would overwhelm us, make us run, divide us with distractions or lies.
Anger gives love the fuel we need to raise our voices, to strongly state our opinion and to let those who win by hatred and intimidation that our belief in love does not mean that we will be bowed by your voices, anger can give us our voices back.
Resistance gives love the courage to stand ground to not cede space. Resistance declares that we are here and we are to be reckoned with.
L believe in love, but love has an arsenal.
I am learniIg slowly that to be effective, I need to be willing to protect my heart while I use the tools I need to say, NO, and then be ready for battle.
Love is not sunshine and butterflies and flowers. It is an energy...to be used for change....for connection. The dark side of love is hate...to be used for change...for disruption and chaos on the intrapsychic, interpersonal, and societal circles around the hater.
ReplyDeleteHumans have this energy, and can choose how to use it - just as we do with fire.
Dave, your writing is clear and strong. Real love requires great courage, willingness to be hurt and continue to try to use the power of love to overcome the power of hate.
Love is fierce, stubborn, complicated, confusing, painful, and mysterious. Only those who are very brave experience the fullness of this power we call love that can change the world.
clairesmum
Good article as always, but I think there is a typo at "divide us white distractions or lies". Did you mean to say "divide us with"?
ReplyDeleteI usually let typos go, but this made the sentence confusing.
Thank you so much for your blog, I always look forward to it. (And yes, please continue to blog about Joe, your marriage, the girls, and anything else you choose to say, It is always interesting).
Sharon