It's appropriate to dislike George W. Bush. It's reasonable to find him pathetic. We're justified in being disgusted with him. But it only hurts us if we hate him.
Hatred feels like power, as if it can annihilate those at whom it is directed. But hatred won't deter Bush and what he represents. It's more likely to strengthen him because it gives him and his followers what they're always looking for--something to oppose.
We have what we believe are legitimate reasons for our hatred. Bush ignores our ideas and beliefs. He doesn't take us seriously. Since 2002 he has completely ignored our protests against the Iraq war. With a smirk, he overrides our objections to his policies on critical issues such as global warming, taxes, the economy, health insurance, religion in public life, energy conservation, and air pollution.
Nonetheless, hatred is a self-defeating emotion. Though it feels like power it's really a phony or pseudo-power that drains our energy and defeats our purpose. The negativity of hatred has its source within us. Often, it arises from our own unresolved entanglement in a sense of helplessness and powerlessness. We need to eliminate this negative emotion for the sake of political progress as well as for our health and happiness. Let me explain.
Right-wing commentators get a lot of traction with undecided voters when they accuse us of being hateful toward the president. The claim that we're anti-American is thrown into the package deal for their readers and listeners. Millions of voters are persuaded that we're negative and acrimonious. They're tempted to believe the worst about us because doing so eases their inner doubts about their own goodness and value.
Roger Cohen, editor at large of the International Herald Tribune, wrote last month that, "Among hyperventilating left-liberals hatred of Bush is so intense that rational argument usually goes out the window." Others are making similar points and include writers with large readerships such as Thomas Friedman of the New York Times and Joe Klein of Time magazine, along with a hoard of right-wing broadcasters. If there's a shred of evidence for their assertions, many voters jump at the chance to believe it.
Our enmity and spite, whatever much of it we harbor, can indeed affect our rationality. Is it possible, for example, that hatred is hiding out in our yearning for Bush's and Dick Cheney's impeachment? This is not to say that pursuing impeachment is wrong. It's just that an attempt to impeach them is more likely to fail if we don't clearly see the hidden motivations that might be accompanying our conscious reasons. The right wing failed in seeking Bill Clinton's impeachment, in part because the public, seeing into the right's hatred and righteousness, was not supportive of the attempt. Bush's crimes dwarf Clinton's, of course, but hatred for Bush on our side will still trigger sympathy for him on the other side.
Rancor, venom, and blocked anger only cause us emotional suffering. We want to blame our bad feelings on Bush and his policies. We are, however, less eager to acknowledge that blaming others is usually a cover-up for something we're not seeing or dealing with in ourselves. Besides, Bush is so dysfunctional that he very likely takes pleasure in causing us grief as he relishes his power over us. We don't have to go looking for extra helpings of his crow pie.
We can be more emotionally detached from the grim fact of his presidency, and still be as effective (if not more so) in overthrowing what he represents. Great satisfaction can be felt in our patriotic pursuit of democratic progress. Petty tyrants such as Bush can bring out the best in us instead of the worst. As we rise in unison to crush the feeblemindedness he represents, we may discover that our life has never been more purposeful.
As the left rises to power, we don't want to sabotage ourselves with discord and infighting. Such behaviors would emerge from the same inner source as this unchecked enmity for Bush. We simply won't be able to instill progressive values permanently into the political life of the nation if our personal evolvement is lacking. Let's be led instead, in Abraham Lincoln's words, "by the better angels of our nature."
www.QuestForSelf.com
Peter Michaelson is a psychotherapist and author in Plymouth, MI. He offers telephone sessions and specializes in marriage and partnership conflict resolution. PDF files of his books are available at www.QuestForSelf.com.
Bush, Cheney, Gonzales, Ashcroft (leaving office doesn't mean we have to stop hating you, does it?), Rice, Hadley, Pearle, Wolfowitz (changing jobs doesnt..., right?), Libby, Powell (changing sides but never apologizing, doesn't...), O'Conner, Scalia, Thomas, Renquist (being dead doesn't..., right?), Roberts, Alito, Bush (Jeb), Liberman (saying you are a Democrat surely doesn't mean we can't hate you if you SUPPORT the Republicans and do whatever they say), Santorum (being out of office and disgraced doesn't...), oh hell, the list never ends.
They are all pieces of crap who have betrayed the country and the Constitution and caused great harm to the ENTIRE WORLD.
These people have betrayed rules of HUMANITY -- I think their punishement should be MUCH MUCH worse than simply being taken from power.
And I reserve the right to hate each and every one of them, including the A-holes in the big red pickup trucks with W or Bush/Cheney bumper stickers on their back windows.
I reserve the right to HATE THEM FOREVER, TILL EVERY LAST HATE CELL IN MY BODY IS DEAD.
And I used to be such a nice guy and so full of peace and love and understanding and forgiveness. THAT is what I hate the Republicans for the most -- their Party-over-Country mentality has brought me to this.
Charlie L
Portland, OR
by
Charlie L (2 articles, 2 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 617 comments)
on Friday, January 26, 2007 at 9:52:42 AM
In fact, the commentators you have mentioned in your article would have accused you of hating Bush even if you oozed love towards him. It is their job. History had proven many times that the only way to cure the psychopath is to let him know that he does not worry in vain. Bush is not just a 'dislikable Prez'. He wants us dead. He wants you dead and also your children. If you know that he wants you dead, akcnowledge that and still do not hate him then there is a problem with you, I suppose.
There is another, a very deep and sinister aspect of this. This aspect is an issue of provocation. The right-wingers deliberately point a finger at the left and progressives, calling those 'haters' to unleash power against those people. It is a very dirty and a very old trick- they essentially are snitches for the government repressive mechanism. That is what they should be called- snitches, blood-mongers, snakes. Now,you can counteract that by calling them what they are- they hate this country. By helping the harmful group to stay in power they are traitors. Treason is as much an accusation as a 'hatred of Bush' and as such serves them right: they are treasonous cowards'
Lincoln might have said those beautiful words but in his deeds he was far from angelic. He was a harsh, resolute and direct person and he was not afraid to use all the powers and all the dark emotions to achieve the goals he considered necessary to achieve. Lincoln grieved the losses but he fully supported Grant, the 'exchanger', the one who deliberately lured the Southerners into the series of battles with huge casualties to exhaust the manpower of the rebels. Lincoln was a person of great feelings and great convictions and that is what makes him such a statesman, not the 'angelic diatribe'. IF hewa here now he would be shouting hate of Bush from all podiums. If Bushites complain that they are hated- that is terrific! I hope you do not want them to pat you on the shoulder or kiss you, do you?
Surely none of us mean any harm to Bush. We just want him out and maybe become a TV personality or something.
by
Mark Sashine (44 articles, 19 quicklinks, 228 diaries, 3268 comments)
on Friday, January 26, 2007 at 10:22:12 AM
Please do not speak for cliff 567 when you say 'none of us' panurg, cliff 567 says "HANG THE TREASONOUS SCUM". Eliminate their gene pool, imprison their friends, confiscate their wealth, piss on the dirt their contaminated ashes are strewn on.
Cliff 567 says more that will cause a flag.
..
.
by
cliff567 (6 articles, 0 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 189 comments)
on Saturday, January 27, 2007 at 1:59:44 AM
Hatred is self destructive, destroying yourself for Bush's sake is a waste of time, yourself, your emotions, and probably hurtful to all those around 'you' who care about 'you'.....so, not something that progresses any of this towards a solution.
Cool heads prevail, Hot heads simply sweat. (Alot!)
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Mr. Robin Parsons (1 articles, 1 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 64 comments)
on Friday, January 26, 2007 at 10:59:16 AM
hatred reflects a passive position
anger can motivate us to take action
hatred holds us inert in front of faux news shows where the only relief is laughter
anger drives us into the streets to protest and make our voices heard
if we want to shut down the military industrial congressional complex then we need to take action not sit in front of Stewart/Colbert feeling smug because we get the jokes
time to get angry and take action!
by
anechoic (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 50 comments)
on Friday, January 26, 2007 at 11:12:26 AM
The main thing is overthrowing the SOB's. Whether you "hate"
them or not is entirely secondary. Some people work more effectively when giving full rein to their anger. If your hatred is getting in the way of working to overthrow these monsters, that's a problem; but otherwise, not.
Bush is not a "petty tyrant." As an individual, he's a pathetic mediocrity, but the network of social forces he represents is as dangerous as anything the world has ever seen.
There is no reason to care what self important fools like Thomas Friedman or Joe Klein think. As figures of the corporate media, they are part of what makes a grotesque phenomenon like Bush possible in the first place.
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Richard Mynick (2 articles, 3 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 1026 comments)
on Friday, January 26, 2007 at 11:12:58 AM
Hatred is an expresion that when seen in the likes of Bush, in my guestament 99.99% of the world hates Bush.
So if my math is correct .01% fill what this author is trying to preach to be affective.
And if the world don't agree with my hatred towards Bush, they can kiss my A** for all I care.
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Fred F (1 articles, 1 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 363 comments)
on Friday, January 26, 2007 at 4:06:59 PM
.. because it's based on a deluded vision of human psychology--we can control our actions by sheer willpower--not always an easy thing to do-- but we cannot control our feelings.
I cannot force myself to love somebody I don't love, or suppress normal feelings of hate or anger if someone has done me major damage or grievous bodily harm.
Not that I condone hate, it's just a feeling that you can deny or repress but you cannot make it disapear by sheer willpower.
If you deny or repress hate, like this article seem to suggest, it will still be there, only it will fester in a dissociated part of your psyche, causing more harm than if you aknowledged it and let it rip.
Repressed fellings can also surface through psychosomatic diseases.
We have a President who is in deep denial, lying to himself and hiding from himself. Turning us into phoney-nice hypocrits like him is no solution.
First thing we can do for ourselves in order to remain mentally sane in those depressing times is to be honest with ourselves and our feelings.
Hatred, like all forms of energy, will usually run out of steam after a while anyway.
by
francine (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 201 comments)
on Friday, January 26, 2007 at 5:13:03 PM
The thoughts and interpretations that we have about our experiences dictate the emotions that we will feel about them. So if you genuinely change your beliefs about someone, your feelings will change also. (This is not being a phony-nice hypocrite and suppressing your feelings, but transmuting them.)
Two thoughts at the root of hate are an attitude of superior self-righteous judgment (against the person, not their crime) and the belief that the person responsible for the evil actions is a dehumanized monster and not a complex fellow living creature deserving of empathy.
Of course we should hate and oppose their actions, but if we can cultivate an attitude of personal humility, and try to see the other as a terribly damaged, weak and poisoned human being, hopefully we can transform our hate into pity -- even as we simultaneously block their actions and demand that they answer to the law for their crimes.
It's important that we try to learn to do this, not only to improve our own personal mental health, but because these are the seed beliefs and practices that will blossom into the more highly evolve, enlightened, progressive society that we are struggling to create. If we merely change the structures of society, but seed it with the same old hate-based beliefs, we'll just end up creating another oppressive, toxic society with a different structure.
by
my2cents (0 articles, 5 quicklinks, 3 diaries, 30 comments)
on Sunday, January 28, 2007 at 12:31:42 AM
You are very correct. Hate is self-defeating and self-destructive. It contaminates the hater with a virus that is worse than cancer or AIDS and eventually destroys those around them. I did a study on the death penalty years ago. I studied the victim and his/her family, the perpetrator and his/her family. Of the many things I found was just how destructive it was for the victim's family who not could bring themselves to forgive. Many lost jobs, had marriage break ups and were left lonely and isolated.
Years later, my study came close to home. My Pastor along with his wife was murdered by two men in his home one night. You might remember one of the murderers names, Aike. There was a knock on the door about 8:00 PM. The fifteen year old daughter answered the door. The two men barged in, the daughter screamed, one of the men hit her on the head with a pistol, her father heard the commotion came down the stairs asking what was going on, one of the men shot him in the head and killing him instantly. The men tied up the mother, the fifteen year old and her fourteen year old brother with electrical cords ripped from table lamps, they proceeded to shoot each of the three twice in the back. The kids watched their mother slowly die before their eyes. One of the children was able to get untied after Aike and his accomplice left them for dead. She somehow freed her brother who was much larger than her, got him into their car and drove them to the nearest hospital fifteen miles away. The children never got over the death of their parents. The son was later elected to the House of Representatives. He sponsored every bill which I considered far right wing from allowing people to carry concealed weapons to mandatory sentences. He and his sister were there for the injections of the murders and did news interviews after they were over. They said they forgave them but all their actions belied their words. Their trouble did not stop with the death of their parents and their murderers. They never found finality. They seem so unhappy to this very day and that was over twenty-five years ago.
Compare this to the murder/suicide of the Amish families just last year. It is amazing that Jesus Christ's first words while hanging on the cross were, "Father, forgive them" or the words of Stephen while being stoned to death in the Bible's Book of Acts which were identical to Jesus' words.
Thank you for the article. We definitely need more like it.
by
pratliff94 (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 940 comments)
on Friday, January 26, 2007 at 5:36:00 PM
You are asking too much, there are some things and some people that you can not NOT hate.
I was born and raised in I ran .I was a part of the revolution and I have seen my share of blood and death. Living in the U.S for so many years I have done my best to incorporate as much of American life style as I could.But some of these beliefs come out of the same religions that I run away from. Some of these Ideas are not just un acceptable ,they are mear illusions .How about a few of them for you "We are all children of the same god ,we should love each other , god loves all of us, do not hate others because you become like them, forgive and forget" and all other goody two shoes ideas which are never practiced.
The world is a cruel place which is run by cruel people and it is only through tough struggle of the left that right has bent a little bit. G.W represents military industry complex and oil corporations .I work for the bottom %20 of the population. He hates the poor, I work for the poor. Why should not I hate?
I am lucky I live in a democracy and the last election showed that we were right. So why should I give in to what I despise.
I have a friend who is getting prepared to go for his third tour of duty. "Why, what for"
"How do you ask a man to be the last man to die, how do you ask a man to die for a mistake".
by
Abbas Sadeghian, Ph.D. (8 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 18 comments)
on Friday, January 26, 2007 at 5:41:41 PM
"What country before ever existed a century & a half without a rebellion? & what country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are not warned from time to time that his people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to the facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure." Thomas Jefferson in a letter to Col. William S. Smith, sent from Paris, November 13, 1787.
by
cliff567 (6 articles, 0 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 189 comments)
on Saturday, January 27, 2007 at 2:06:06 AM
About all one can do in reality is match their feelings to the definition, which I conveniently provide a link to below.
I would suggest that it is what we do with our feelings that matters most. Take the energy that you feel, get out and march tomorrow, make phone calls, write letters, for example. No sense being dishonest about it, is there?
The "Hate Card" - A desperation play for hopeless Bushies
Our fellow citizens are being sent to die for a continuous circle of lies, put forth by a select few who seek to benefit not the greater good, not America as a whole, but themselves and their corporate paymasters. And they're doing it all without an ounce of remorse for the blood they're spilling, the hundreds of billions of our tax dollars they're wasting, or the untold number of survivors' lives that have also been destroyed. Anyone who cannot see this is quite simply not looking.
What we feel is not hate. It is unquestionably justified anger. It is the most righteous of indignation.
The next time some clueless Bush parrot throws the hate card at you, ask them a question:
"Who TRULY hates America? Responsible citizens who insist that our Constitution must be adhered to by those who take the oath to preserve, protect and defend it, and insist that those who violate it be punished accordingly, or frauds like George W. Bush, who take the oath, proceed to denounce the Constitution as 'just a goddamned piece of paper' then ignore it and indeed try to rewrite it for their own selfish benefit?"
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John Perry (31 articles, 33 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 81 comments)
on Friday, January 26, 2007 at 7:15:46 PM
I'm certainly not one to thump the Bible, but I do believe it to be worth paying attention to, and it says hate the evil, and love the good. You make a good point, but I think it is a natural human emotion to hate evil.
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Mark Petersen (9 articles, 73 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 50 comments)
on Friday, January 26, 2007 at 8:16:36 PM
..that Jesus had said "Hate evil" yet when I challenged them to find that in the Bible, they couldn't.
Follow the link of the above gentlemans' link to the definition (Of hate - then - look lower) and it references a biblical age meaning that conotates simply 'a lessor form of love' for hate.
Anger may motivate you, but when it is ongoing & retained/harboured it becomes hatred...'slow to anger' is Much better cause then you might just, with a cooler head, decide to act prior to starting to hurt yourself from the inside of yourself.
In another forum I linked an article from a Medical website that had study result proving Anger was Bad for your Heart.
Go in Peace, ACT when it is time to act!...with a cool head
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Mr. Robin Parsons (1 articles, 1 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 64 comments)
on Friday, January 26, 2007 at 8:59:03 PM
When the Bible tells you to 'Hate Evil' the evil they are talking about is essentially a Lie.
That is how the Devil was characterized as 'a Liar and a Murderer' noting that a 'murderer' is, first and foremost, a LIAR ....as to be able (Self-justify) to commit the murder
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Mr. Robin Parsons (1 articles, 1 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 64 comments)
on Friday, January 26, 2007 at 9:21:23 PM
It was not Jesus who was a Jew that said, "Hate the evil and love the good," but several Jewish prophets in the Tanakh (Old Testament)with the Apostle Paul and the Apostle John in the New Testament:
Amos 5:15-- "Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph."
Psalm 34:14-- "Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it."
Psalm 37:27-- "Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore."
The Apostle Paul,
Romans 12:9, "Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good."
I Thessalonians 5:21-22,
21. "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good."
22. "Abstain from all appearance of evil."
The Apostle John,
III John 1:11-- "Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that does good is of God: but he that does evil has not seen God."
by
pratliff94 (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 940 comments)
on Friday, January 26, 2007 at 11:58:09 PM
I must be a really bad person because I really HATE Cheney and Rumsfeld. For some stupid reason, I don't really HATE Bush, I DETEST him. I really don't care very much for the other Republicans that support the right either. Why do I HATE the administration? Gee, let me think. Because they killed thousands of Americans? Because they killed hundreds of thousands of people that are not Americans? Because they are trying to start a war in Iran that will probably kill millions maybe cause the end of civilization as we know it? Because they have taken what I believed in and protected in the Army for 21 years and what every soldier has died for since the Revolutionary War and flushed it down the toilet, until the constitution is a worthless as a roll of toilet paper and not even good for wiping your ass with? Maybe thats why I hate them. Hate is a great motivator. Without it people sometimes sit inert. In the Army we are taught to hate your enemy. That hate will clear the mind and enable you to put your humanity aside to do what it is that must be done in war. This is not much different. We are very close to losing what Americans have had since the beginning, and that is our freedom. Hate is a useless emotion unless it is harnessed into action. Hating someone or something will kill you unless you find an outlet for it. That is why it is a great motivator. Don't kid yourselves, most of the people that will march tomorrow are marching because they hate what this nation is becoming. We can play with semantics forever, but unless we get up and stop this government's march to absolute power and dictatorship, you are going to find out for yourselves how much you can hate. When you wake up to find you have lost your freedom.
by
Timothy V. Gatto (348 articles, 177 quicklinks, 38 diaries, 575 comments)
on Friday, January 26, 2007 at 9:42:10 PM
So do we connote that the military is an extension of hate in action? If America was founded upon the guise of military action, then isn't America founded upon hate? So much for thinking George Washington our first leader was a nice guy right?
So we have airliners crashing into the WTC, and the Pentagon. Some will blame Bush for that, some don't know. What do you think? Did Bush crash planes into the Pentagon, and if he did why?
If he didn't doesn't it make sense that we should go to War against all terrorists in the world? Perhaps I missed something about what was the lie! WMD not found? Where did they go? They are probably in Iran. Can anyone here say they couldn't be there? How do you know?
All I know is that there is an aweful lot of terror being committed across the world stage and somehow Democrats think doing nothing is going to stop it? Kind of like stopping those murderers who killed the Pastor and his wife. And yet the murderers were caught right? I bet force was used to arrest them...right?
I think Bush is reacting as any normal American would, and he is sticking to his decision, that somewhere in the world there needs to someone fighting for justice and put an end to violence and terror. People who do not support Bush and detest him, I would relish to think they have a better plan, than to sit back and let terrorists control the world outside of American shores.
Of course I was antiBush for awhile until I left America to see what really goes on in the world. The rule of law is not the same as in America. There is alot of bad things going on, and to think we have a President who is willing to do something about it and stop it, and everyone says no way...I find now quite astonishing. As if you want the terror to continue, because who cares who they are, we are OK and snug as bugs in America right?
If anyone is trashing the constitution it is people who will not support the real need in how to stop terrorism.
How many wars did Jesus stop? Funny I can't seem to find one in the Bible; although he was an example to how we should be doing good things on earth.
If politics means we never have the right to change our opinions in the face of being wrong, I think politics is a manifestation of ignorance. In order to maintain the middle you need to be hanging on with both hands on either side the Right and the Left perspectives. What I want to know is why far left NewsOps like OpEdNews thinks it can get anything done, without pulling the Right hand to create balance in our opinions and views.
This is my idea of democracy. I oppose drastic Right and Left, because if we do not treat our Nation as a scale of balance, we lose our ability to govern and determine justice.
America needs to be on the forefront to stop terror. Right thinks military action is the answer, and left is for diplomatic solutions. I personally think both should work together, because you are after the same goals, in supporting democracy.
I only know that if we both do not change our tunes in bringing back the balance, we can only blame ourselves if things do not get better. I am doing my share, of trying to reach the balance. I have been antiBush, and now I am trying to also support our President. Those of you who point the finger of damnation be warned. You are not supporters of democracy, in fact you are the liars you so testly claim Bush to be.
I am disapointed in OpedNews, and Rob wonders why he does not get the contributions he wants. It is because you are not broadminded enough to realize that it is the individual who is supporting the middle that creates cohesion and proper governance. OpEdNews does not convey the thought or has the writers that are willing to support that option. I know; my recent articles that would support Bush are denied publishing here. You all madly hold to the opinion you are right and blast forward your rants, while the people suck it up believing it. I have had my opinions and made remarks about the direction of the country. Yet I have come to understand what I am after. I want a balance. Why don't we honor Native American Indians, and Black Americans more? What is the problem?
Perhaps someday you will see the light. All I know is with this type of Left leaning writing all the time OpEd in my opinion is a failure.
by
Dom Jermano (20 articles, 0 quicklinks, 40 diaries, 934 comments)
on Saturday, January 27, 2007 at 12:43:13 AM
