Love Is Still The Answer
Violence And Terrorism Should Never Be Confused Wtih Passion
by Michael D. Hume, M.S.
In the horrible aftermath of the Norway terrorist strike the other day, one young girl who survived the shootings gave the best recovery-related summary I've heard. "If one person with all that hate can do this," she said, "think what we can do with all our love!"
If you want to be an inspirational leader, as do many of my clients, you have to start with the right attitude - and that girl's got it. Hate and adversity are out there, always have been, and always will be. When we can rise above it, though, even standing amidst the rubble of such a horrific attack, we defeat it. Love is always much more powerful than hate.
I exchanged emails this morning with a fellow business-owner in Norway, and one of his messages mentioned this girl's quote. I'm not surprised that my colleague picked this gem out of what must be a barrage of media coverage in his country... like the young girl, he's an inspired person, and an inspirational leader. His will always and consistently be a voice of calm, of reason, of love.
Like the sicko who shot up an Arizona grocery parking lot several months ago (shooting Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and others), the Oslo terrorist (I will not do him the honor of mentioning his name here) is immediately being portrayed as a "right wing extremist." It turned out that the Arizona shooter was just a crazy person with more leftward leanings than rightward... but the media immediately labeled him a right-winger and called for less "violent rhetoric."
Since (and before) that time, what violent rhetoric has filled the airways has largely been from the left (see Wisconsin) - and nothing changed in "rhetoric" which worked to prevent the Oslo attack. But the fact is that anyone who'd do what the guy did in Oslo this week is not politically motivated. He's just a whacko. To paint him with a political brush, even if anti-left sentiments did spring from his deranged mind, diverts attention from the real issue: there are sick people out there, bad things happen, and inspired people rise above it.
Want to get rid of the next generation of leftists? Great. Don't shoot them! Change their hearts and minds. Show through your passionate love of liberty and free markets that life is better on the good side. Capture their imagination with upbeat stories of the virtues of freedom. Get their attention with humor (as the left always does) - poke harmless fun at the craziness that is liberal statism (which is always easy to do).
Direct your passion toward love, not hate. Don't attack; prepare people to recover from attacks. Whether your political leanings are right, left, or non-existent, you have nothing but weakness for an argument (and derangement for a mind) if you think you have to pick up a gun to make your point.
I can only imagine what Norwegians feel this day. But I can imagine. I was born in Oklahoma City, a few blocks from the now-famous Murrah Building where a dear friend lost the love of his life in 1995. I briefly attended Columbine High School (when it first opened), and was horrified by the scenes of terror there, years later. And, like all Americans, I still mourn the losses of 9/11, nearly ten years later.
Mourning, revenge, anger... they're always natural human reactions to catastrophes like these. But they should never find action. They're never the answer. The Answer, as it has always been and always will be, is love.
by Michael D. Hume, M.S.
In the horrible aftermath of the Norway terrorist strike the other day, one young girl who survived the shootings gave the best recovery-related summary I've heard. "If one person with all that hate can do this," she said, "think what we can do with all our love!"
If you want to be an inspirational leader, as do many of my clients, you have to start with the right attitude - and that girl's got it. Hate and adversity are out there, always have been, and always will be. When we can rise above it, though, even standing amidst the rubble of such a horrific attack, we defeat it. Love is always much more powerful than hate.
I exchanged emails this morning with a fellow business-owner in Norway, and one of his messages mentioned this girl's quote. I'm not surprised that my colleague picked this gem out of what must be a barrage of media coverage in his country... like the young girl, he's an inspired person, and an inspirational leader. His will always and consistently be a voice of calm, of reason, of love.
Like the sicko who shot up an Arizona grocery parking lot several months ago (shooting Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and others), the Oslo terrorist (I will not do him the honor of mentioning his name here) is immediately being portrayed as a "right wing extremist." It turned out that the Arizona shooter was just a crazy person with more leftward leanings than rightward... but the media immediately labeled him a right-winger and called for less "violent rhetoric."
Since (and before) that time, what violent rhetoric has filled the airways has largely been from the left (see Wisconsin) - and nothing changed in "rhetoric" which worked to prevent the Oslo attack. But the fact is that anyone who'd do what the guy did in Oslo this week is not politically motivated. He's just a whacko. To paint him with a political brush, even if anti-left sentiments did spring from his deranged mind, diverts attention from the real issue: there are sick people out there, bad things happen, and inspired people rise above it.
Want to get rid of the next generation of leftists? Great. Don't shoot them! Change their hearts and minds. Show through your passionate love of liberty and free markets that life is better on the good side. Capture their imagination with upbeat stories of the virtues of freedom. Get their attention with humor (as the left always does) - poke harmless fun at the craziness that is liberal statism (which is always easy to do).
Direct your passion toward love, not hate. Don't attack; prepare people to recover from attacks. Whether your political leanings are right, left, or non-existent, you have nothing but weakness for an argument (and derangement for a mind) if you think you have to pick up a gun to make your point.
I can only imagine what Norwegians feel this day. But I can imagine. I was born in Oklahoma City, a few blocks from the now-famous Murrah Building where a dear friend lost the love of his life in 1995. I briefly attended Columbine High School (when it first opened), and was horrified by the scenes of terror there, years later. And, like all Americans, I still mourn the losses of 9/11, nearly ten years later.
Mourning, revenge, anger... they're always natural human reactions to catastrophes like these. But they should never find action. They're never the answer. The Answer, as it has always been and always will be, is love.
Source...