Hi Kayhed. I loved the sentiments in your letter "There should not be a place for hate" published in the "Framingham Patch" cited here or below T'were your thoughts heeded by all a more perfect world would result.
What you say I have adopted as my own set of principles. No matter what the threat, and admittedly there are many, I do not waiver from a humanitarian impulse. I must for what reputation does a human being leave if they are not for love, kindness, generosity and peace. All the major forces like Mohamed -- peace be on him, Jesus, and the Hebrew Bible contain many verses of peace. One must just look for them. The Hebrew Bible states "Be kind to the stranger because you were once strangers in a strange land." Biblical texts contain violence, too, if one seeks it out but there is kindness, goodness and love if one chooses those above hate, violence and chaos.
"The Talmud recounts that a Gentile once approached Hillel with the request that Hillel convert him to Judaism. This Gentile did not want to go through a lengthy regimen of learning, so he told Hillel; “I want you to teach me the entire Torah while I stand on one foot.” Hillel’s response endures as a lesson for the generations." Hillel taught “Do not do unto others that which you hate done unto yourself – that is the entire Torah. The rest is commentary, go and study it.” Cited here: https://yourphariseefriend.wordpress.com/2011/03/31/do-not-do-unto-others/
All religious texts contain elements of violence but it is up to others in each tradition to teach the opposite which can be found in those texts as well. I repeat, one must just look for them.
I do know that man does better when he/she learns to work with others. Violence and war beget more violence and more war so that culture never advances, indeed, never can advance.
I have dedicated my life in retirement to writing for humanitarian causes as I want that legacy even if it appears in only one small corner of the universe to stand for who I am and to help those I could.
We must press on no matter the set backs, no matter the difficulty and no matter the hate directed against us. Martin Luther King taught: “Only in the darkness can you see the stars.”
I am with you!
Best,
Natalie
http://patch.com/massachusetts/framingham/letter-there-should-not-be-place-hate-usa-0
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