The History of Hatred

              I look back during my time in school from elementary school through high school.  In my history classes I learned about how African Americans were enslaved and then were free after the Civil War.  I learned how the Jews were put into camps during Nazi Germany.  I learned how a man named Martin Luther King Jr. fought for the equal rights of African Americans.

            My grandmother was born in 1920 and she told me stories about her life and how she was picked on for being Italian.  During her time no one like the Italian and the Irish because people thought they were taking their jobs and were going to take over. 

            In sophomore year, I learned how on the West the people hated the Chinese because they thought they would not be able to assimilate and the cultures were too different for the citizens of the United States at the time. 

            During World War II, I learned how citizens of United States who were of Japanese origin were put into camps.  They were taken away from their homes by force and were taken to an unknown land in their own country because people feared them.  Even people who never met a Japanese person became frighten after Pearl Harbor. 

            In history class I learned how people struggle because of who they were and were judge based on the color of their skin, their heritage, or their beliefs.  I started to admire the people who fought for their rights, including those who fought for the rights of others although they did not share the same heritage, beliefs, or colors of the skin.  And by reading the paper and listening to the news, I learned that this hatred continues, and not just in another country that is far away, but in my own country! 

            There are many people who disagree with gay marriage and call them “faggots”.  I know some people do not believe it in because of religious reasons, but then I see children and they just mimic their parents.  They are not able to think for themselves and I wonder if they will ever be able think for themselves.  I also questioned the bible about gay marriage. It is written in the Old Testament, but I could find nothing about it in the New Testament.  Did this mean that God changed his mind?  Also, Jesus taught us to love one another as I have loved you.  So why do people continue to hate, if our savior taught us to love?  Does that mean they are going against Jesus and his teachings?  If Jesus was here, right now, watching my country and the whole world, would he be upset with those who continue to hate but still love him?  I also question why God made a man love another man or a woman love another woman and the only thing I could come up with was that he was testing us.  Testing us to love and accept different people.  Testing has always risen in the human history and I realized that there would never be a time when we are not tested by God or some supreme being. 

            For those who follow the gospel, I question them.  Jesus taught us to love everyone and everything, so why do you hate?  Jesus never taught us to hate.  What about the story of the Good Samaritan?  The Samaritan hated Jews and the Jews hated them, but in the story it was a Samaritan who saved the life of a Jew, while the Rabbi and a scholar left him for dead.  Doesn’t that mean anything?  Wasn’t Jesus telling us to overlook everything we knew and to care for one another?  God created man in his image, so when we see someone we should remind ourselves that God created them in his image and we should not question God why he made a man a man or a woman a woman. 

            Love is a powerful thing.  Loving a friend, parent, child, relative, pet, and even another human being who we would want to be with for the rest of our lives.  So why is it wrong for a man to love a man or a woman to love a woman?  It’s love and it can take many forms and can be strong during difficult times. 

            I know what people may say about me if they read this or listen to my beliefs about gay marriage and gay couples.  Although I am not gay, I still believe they have rights because they are humans as well, are they not?  I studied the bible and the teachings of Jesus and he taught us to love.  Every story he told his followers were about love.  So then, if someone hates someone just because of whom he or she is but say they follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, then would that person be a hypocrite?  I would say yes because if you hate someone, then you do not follow the teachings of Jesus. 

            What would you do, if you died and stood before Jesus?  I believe Jesus would question you why you had so much hate.  You would probably ask him what he was talking about.  Jesus would tell you that you hated gay people and you would tell him why you hated gay people.  But then I believe Jesus would ask you, “I taught my followers to love one another.  So if I taught love, then why do you hate?  Why did you become a lost sheep?” and you would probably say why but I believe in the end, Jesus would be sad and no matter what you say, Jesus would still question why you did not love. 

“Love one another, as I have loved you,”