Somehow our society has accepted and promotes the mythological idea that to disapprove is to hate. If you don’t approve of someone’s behavior nowadays, you might be accused of hate speech or of having a phobia. This however, is nonsense.
Even the people who love me the most, my immediate family, sometimes disapprove of my ideas or actions. But they still love me very much! Their love for me has nothing whatsoever to do with their approval or disapproval of my beliefs and behaviors.
So why is it any different in society? If you disapprove of lying, that doesn’t mean that you hate liars. Someone you love dearly may frequently lie, but you still love her or him, don’t you? Just because you disapprove of and/or offer criticism to a person for lying, doesn’t make you a hater, does it?
People who demand that other people approve of their behaviors have a very poor self-image. After all, no one on earth is completely approved of by everybody. Just look at the US President (no matter who he or she is).
Millions of people are constantly disapproving of what the President says and does. Does the President turn around and call those who disapprove of him haters or phobics? Of course not. He or she is too secure of an individual to fall for that myth! And neither should the rest of us! We need to deny the lie that says that to disapprove is to hate!
Hate is one thing, poor manners is another.
It is easier to blame others than to understand their motives. Most of us don’t hate, but the behavior of many who are listening to the prompting of others rather than acting rationally, ought to be the motivation those of us who believe – to love others is the better answer, to live according to what we say we believe.
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