To Those of Hate, the Swamp is a Haven

I reply to a Facebook friend, by writing, "I spot your post, even as I am thinking on the effects of hatred. 'Fear and hate are all the Republicans have to offer their base,' you say, and I have been thinking on how many of those in that party have contempt for 'illegal' immigrants and for Colin Kaepernick and for those who believe in abortion. (I, too, am against abortion, but I do not believe we should display contempt for those who believe differently that us.) I wonder on this, wondering if Democrats return the same amount of reviling. The Book of Mormon speaks of returning railing for railing. Have we not become such a nation -- a nation of hatred, a nation of returning reviling for reviling? One throws a stone, and the other returns it. A nation governed by hate is not a Christian nation, or, if you would prefer to use another term to include those who are not Christians, not a virtuous nation. Think of your own self, my friend from the long, lost past, and reflect on whether the pictures you draw and thoughts you have and opinions you give do not spew from the same kind of hatred. Just as the Republicans find a whole class of society to hate (the undocumented, in particular, but other groups, as well), do you find a group in society to hate? If we all have become creatures of hate -- hating each other -- what is the virtue of our positions? There is no virtue in hatred, so opinions derived from it lack good anchor, and will sink with those same anchors. An opinion is no better than its anchor, so one based on the shallowness of hate will sink with it into the shallow waters of a swamp -- to it, the welcome waters of home. To those of hate, the swamp is a haven."