The Power of Love

I’d like to expound for a moment on a belief that I’ve held for some time to the effect that, while Love is certainly a powerful force, it is not stronger than hate. First of all, I think that Love, by its nature, is yielding. People often see the world as a struggle between love and hate, but I don’t think it’s in the nature of love to put up a fight. I don’t think Love is aggressive, even in its own defense. In any contest between a peaceful, loving person and a violent, hateful person, the latter will almost always win. The guy who wins is almost always the one willing to hurt or kill or at least lie or do something under-handed. So it is with cultures and nations. A peaceful, benevolent society will always be crushed by a war-like, malevolent society. Some argue that this is another nail in the coffin for God, but I don’t blame God for the shit humans do to each other, nor do I expect him to put a stop to it.

This is why America is being decimated by unscrupulous men with more money that the GDP of a small country. Some people will aggressively do whatever it takes make their fortunes and keep them, even at the expense of kinder, more loving people. This is one of the flaws in a meritocracy. This is also a big reason why Republicans win elections; they’re more aggressive. They’re fulla shit, but they’re more aggressive about it. Democrats have the right ideas, but they don’t stand up for them. Bill Maher said that the principles of Liberalism are things most Americans already agree with or would if they were properly argued and defended, but very few people in Washington are standing up for our ideals and calling the Republicans on their shit.

But I digress. I say this because people like to say that “Love is the strongest force in the universe.”, or “Love conquers all.”, and it’s naive. I’m not saying this as a reproach to Love, either. Love SHOULDN’T be aggressive. Sometimes people are aggressive in defense of Love and what’s right, and that’s fine, but guys like Buddha, Jesus, and Gandi – the real messengers of love in our history – aren’t SUPPOSED to be violent. They’re supposed to turn the other cheek. Let someone else be violent on their behalf, if they must.

Believe in Love if you will, but be prepared to defend it because it won’t defend itself.