If you've looked at Facebook lately, you've no doubt seen posts with the message (and I've seen it phrased differently) that we need to take care of our veterans before we let in refugees. Here's what I don't get: Our country has been treating veterans badly for years. Why, suddenly, do so many people care? What are they doing to help? While I would agree that it's shameful the way America has treated its veterans, I don't get how one thing has anything to do with the other. The amount of hate-mongering I've seen in the past week is sickening. What really confounds the issue is that these people -- the hate-mongers -- call themselves Christians. (Yes, I know all Christians are not nasty hypocrites.)
There are a few things I'd like to say to those particular hateful Christians. First, the only thing that separates the Bible from the Koran is the New Testament, which I understand is what Christians follow. I bet many of them don't know that. I don't claim to be an expert in world religions, but I've read the Bible several times and parts of other religious texts. No religious text teaches hate as a core tenet. Christians who twist their faith in that way are as bad as Muslims who twist their faith. Hate breeds hate. Also, Jesus said we should treat others as we would be treated ourselves, and that "whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers, that you do unto me." So where does all the hate come from?
My guess is that it's fear -- of a few (in the grand scheme) people of different faiths who, themselves, hate and act on it; of what they don't understand, such as other cultures; and other things I'm not sure about. I'm going to spend a lot of time thinking (or writing) about this, but I do think that the more we can learn from and about each other, and the more love we can spread, the better off we'll all be.
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