Simple Strategy to Save Humanity
#StopTeachingHate — It Really IS That Simple.
Photo by Duy Pham on Unsplash
Growing up, my mother shared her love of musicals and whimsical tales with me. From “Singing in the Rain” to “Brigadoon” to “CATS”.1 We used to watch old movies and musicals together. She instilled in me a love of classic cinema, musical productions, and live theater.
Watching “South Pacific” on PBS2 one lazy Saturday afternoon, my mom explained to me how “scandalous” and “innovative” it was that Mary Martin actually WASHED her hair LIVE on the stage as she sang “Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair”! She explained to me that, in the time the musical opened, the idea that HATE was perpetuated by being “carefully taught” from generation to generation was in many ways a novel idea - at least as spoken and acknowledged outright in public.
She explained to me that those were turbulent times and that the musical shook up the zeitgeist and made a lot of people question some things they had never questioned before.
If you look it up you’ll find dozens, if not hundreds, of scholarly articles and essays describing that very same political turmoil and how the musical acted, in many ways, as a catalyst for the political and social changes that were already brewing at the time. They explain how “South Pacific” helped advance social progress, advocating for acceptance and equality, and the right to love whomever you loved.
The following decades would see tremendous growth and evolution of the communal values and mores. Large segments of society would accept and even embrace that the nation-founding concept of “All men are created equal” actually applied to ALL races, colors, creeds, and religions. With careful attention, equitable acceptance continued to expand to include genders, physical abilities, sexual orientations and lifestyle choices. Policies, practices, and laws would begin to change to reflect the more progressive attitudes.
Let us be clear: In practice, women have consistently had to battle up hill both ways in the snow to make every single bit of progress. So have the alphabet soup of non-hetero and non-binary individuals and their chosen partners. People of color have had to battle daily for equity and inclusion, oftentimes even for the right to be treated with standard human decency. Don’t even get me started on the daily trials and tribulations of differently-abled individuals. But PROGRESS was being made!
There is no doubt we were NOT living in a perfect society prior to the current regime’s punitive backlash. But we were, overall, steadily accelerating in the direction of positive changes and acceptance. The collective consciousness of society as a whole was creeping open.
Step by tedious step scores of marginalized, non-conforming, neurodiverse, and/or quirky individualistic people found their places in the world were no longer challenged by default on a daily basis. And by consensus it was GOOD!
Diversity is the spice of life.3
Each successive generation seemed to be less concerned with perpetuating the hatred of the generations before. The status quo was questioned. New ideas were introduced. New choices were made. New paths were forged. New recreations and new foods were sampled.
It was social evolution. It was organic. New ideas grew and spread and evolved.
Lots of people enjoyed trying Egyptian BBQ Pho Fusion restaurants with a raucous, diverse group of friends, before going to see a stage production of Kinky Boots on a Friday night.
Life was good.
But there were the others. The fearful ones. The ones who didn’t understand ANYTHING that didn’t match their own ideals and practices. Those who couldn’t adjust to anything NEW. They couldn’t accept anyone who did not look like them and talk like them and dress like them and pray like them and love like them. Those people held tightly to “the old ways” because change scared the ever-loving bejabbers out of them!
Those fearful “traditionalists” couldn’t stand watching the world spin out of control. They decided they must claw it back from the hellfire terror it was becoming AT ANY COST. So they made pacts and they made plans and they dug in for the long haul.
They had lots of babies. They made sure to teach their babies to hate the people, places, and things that THEY hated, without question. Those fearful “traditionalists” weren’t going to take ANY chances that their children would become some of those inquisitive children, lost to the wicked ways of a burgeoning love-and-acceptance world. Nope. They bred good little soldiers for the culture wars.
They very carefully TAUGHT the hate.
Now we find ourselves here. If you consider the times of learning and teaching acceptance as a rubber band of culture and society, stretching to find how many could be included, we currently find ourselves in the snap-back of that band.
Did the rubber band of progress stretch too far and break?
No, that band had infinite potential. It could have stretched to include everyone.
Some people very, VERY intentionally CUT it.
In the time elapsed since the peaceful transfer of power in January of 2025, all manner of chaos has erupted.
Correction, all manner of chaos has been cultivated since the peaceful transfer of power in January of 2025. Disorder sown to distract from the nefarious work being done by design and with full intent. A century of progress is being systematically dismantled and destroyed as quickly as possible. And why? For greed. For hate. For FEAR OF CHANGE.
I don’t have the words to address the greed in this musing. But I do want to address the hate.
Why?
Why must those who are full of hate continue to TEACH it? How can they not see that hatred is a destructive black sludge that suffocates and destroys everything it touches?
Humans are not born with hate. Hate is not a genetic memory. Hate is not an instinctual reaction or behavior. Hate is learned. Hate is taught. Hate must be perpetuated in order to survive.
I believe those teaching hate are motivated by exactly the same desires as those embracing diversity. They want safety. They want love and acceptance. They want a sense of community. They want their children to grow up to be strong and successful.
But they are deathly afraid of change, and blinded by that fear they have lost sight of some truly fundamental truths…
“Many hands make light work.”
“Love only grows by sharing. You can only have more for yourself by giving it away to others.”
“Holding a grudge is like taking poison and expecting the other person to die.”
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
You want safety? Stop inciting violence. You want love and acceptance? Learn to accept what is different and open your hearts to love more than what is familiar. You want a sense of community? Open your hands, arms and hearts and embrace others. You want your children to grow up strong and successful? First hug them daily. Then teach them how to live without fear, instead of teaching them to hate.
Unlearning hate is a hard, often tedious, process. It can be painful and labor intensive and fraught with stumbling blocks, false starts and the need to stay focused and dedicated. Unlearning hate is a prime example of “Fall down seven times, pick yourself up eight times.”
You know what ISN’T difficult? NOT TEACHING HATE.
It’s very simple, in order to succeed you simply DON’T DO IT. The ultimate act of laze. You will be rewarded for your LACK of effort!
Releasing the hold of a long-dominant toxic habit takes dedication and resolve. But the beauty of this is that all the energy you previously channeled into hate and vitriol can now be directed into self-care and positive community actions.
It is far more rewarding to CREATE and BUILD than it is to destroy.
I get it. Most everyone wants to take a sledgehammer to something from time to time.4 Here is the secret - redirect that “Hulk Smash!” energy to breaking down BARRIERS. Smash WALLS. Break CHAINS.
Pulverize the unyielding concrete in a barren paved lot and plant some flowers and trees. Cultivate edible plants. You’ll feel recharged watching the flowers bloom. Over time you will have a wonderful patch of shade and a meal to enjoy with friends on a sunny day.
You can only destroy something once. You can build something and enjoy it every day thereafter. You can appreciate it every year. You can be proud of your work over and over for a lifetime.
Have you figured out how to save humanity yet?
Stop Teaching Hate. It really IS that simple. #StopTeachingHate
If reading “CATS” made you think “I want to see it again and again!”, welcome to my tribe!
In the wake of the destruction of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, I hope some other child in the future gets to have such an experience.
I borrowed and customized “Variety is the spice of life.” Poetic license.
Visions of decommissioning a printer in “Office Space”
🙏