Hate: A Challenging Dream

An attempt to sleep in resulted in one odd dream that ended on a strange note and a profound question. Part of my ongoing series Hate.

Awaking and going back to sleep rarely results in memorable dreams for me. This is not the case this morning. It started as an odd jumble involving a look at the next Captain America film in a sociopolitical context at a nearby Catholic college presentation open to the public. In the dream, I was sick and bundled in a blanket in a front row seat.

The female professor making the presentation was very liberal and very much about being in control of the discussion. We watched a clip and then she asked a question that had absolutely nothing to do with what we had just watched. Tedious conversation followed.

At that point I was losing interest in the whole thing, since it appeared to be a waste of time and I felt lousy. I saw a friend sitting several rows in front of me and we waved to each other. Yes, I was sitting in the front row and suddenly there were rows in front of me. One has to love the ability of dreams to be completely inconsistent.

As I began to fall asleep (sleeping in a dream – how lazy can I get?), talk turned to various translations of the Bible and how this showed how divisive religion is. Vaguely attempting to contribute, I pointed out the most widely quoted version is the King James edition, which had been completely ignored in the conversation.  That earned a very cold and prim response from the professor, plus a quick change in topic.

And here I was trying to be as polite and unchallenging as possible. Oh well. I gave up and started to drift off again. Then a foreign student asked a question aimed at one of the audience members. The second time it was asked, a gentle nudge from a young black gentleman behind me informed me that I was the target of the question. He was also kind enough to notice I was ill and loosened the blanket from around my neck causing me to overheat.

There are few things more embarrassing than having to ask someone to repeat themselves for a third time. So of course, I found myself  having to do so while being completely mortified. The questioner had an accent, but it wasn’t that heavy. My being in bad shape made it hard for me to understand, however. That just added to the mortification.

“How do you have a positive message? When everyone are angry and is dividing into tribes?” he asked.

Once I digested and understood the question I awakened, ending the dream.

Quite a question to be asked, especially in a dream. So I have been dwelling heavily on it ever since I got up. I wonder what I would have said in the dream if it had continued, but it appears it was such a difficult question that it required me to be awake in order to respond.

An attempt to answer it follows and it is a long one. The context of the question included the strong political divisions in the United States, please keep that in mind.

We live in a heterogeneous society that no longer has anything in common. A strong society has to be built on having a common culture. When one makes a foundation for a house, concrete is poured to provide a strong, stable platform. Concrete is made by mixing various materials together, including sand, crushed rocks, and cement. The cement binds it all together. Now imagine laying a foundation of just sand and rocks. Ever shifting and moving, there is no way a house can stand on it for a long amount of time.

It used to be that Judeo-Christian values glued the society of the United States of America together. That is no longer the case, since the push for diversity in academics and governance has concentrated on elevating special interest groups over having things in common. Of course this will cause more division rather than uniting the populace, but simple logic seems to elude academics at every turn.

In order for the severe divisions to be patched over, we need a cement to bond the varied aggregate that makes up the population of the land. Right now, I see nothing binding us together and no way other than embracing the old Judeo-Christian values to provide the glue. That is not going to happen any time soon, from what I see. Those values are being corrupted or fled from in growing numbers. A house divided will fall and that simple truth cannot be ignored.

So what can an individual do when uncontrollable greater forces are in motion toward conflict and dissolution?

I wish I had all the answers.

All I can say, or write in this case, is that we individually need to let go of hatred. We need to embrace forgiveness while not sacrificing standing for that which is righteous. Fearing others who disagree with us is another thing that needs to be let go of. In the end, the only people we can and should control are ourselves.

Other than that, praying to God for everyone else is the most helpful thing I know of. Getting outside of your own selfish desires and wants is an important first step towards loving others, no matter how other they are. Prayer has a helpful benefit beyond communing with God and that is learning to turn your mind toward helping others. This may seem to be a small thing, but it is how much bigger and better things are built in a society.

I found it interesting that the foreign student asking the question was multiracial of indeterminate ancestry. Likewise, his accent was not like any I had heard and seemed a blend of many. I have always thought that mixing the races was the path to the future, though I know many on the left and right who would not be comfortable with that. In fact, I have run into more prejudice against mixing from people I know on the left than on the right. But I am also keenly aware that even in a homogeneous society, people will find a way to create divisions and conflict so it is a superficial solution to a much deeper problem.

So that gets back to the first part of the question, “How do you have a positive message?”

Only if we first let go of the things that cause us as individuals to hate others can we hope to address the divisions in the incredibly varied society we live in. Love can be faked, as watching many a politician and tele-evangelist will demonstrate. But in order to truly have a positive message, you must embrace loving others whole heartedly. That way we can convey a positive message without going constantly negative.

It is a hard climb taking the high road, very hard. The low road is easy, but you do not get see the sky and the sun like you do higher up. This is something to remember when you feel the urge to mudsling. That urge can be mighty when your integrity is called into question.

Does this mean not hitting back when you are attacked? Not necessarily. It is important to stand up for what is true, after all. Little lies are easy to ignore. Unfortunately, the dishonest will portray standing up for yourself when lied about as being hateful, especially in politics. Always stand in truth and try not to go overboard when defending against a big lie is my advice.

Try to do everything in a loving way. It may not be perceived as such, but it is the only antidote to the venom being spewed by so many currently.

So that is the last of my thoughts on this very unexpected entry in my essays on hate. I had expected to do a more formal series than this, but inspiration keeps coming out of unlikely places.