The headlines yesterday were replete with examples of hate. The plane returning to Tel Aviv with 33 injured Israelis was five people short. They were killed in the Bulgarian bombing of their bus. 

In Afghanistan yesterday the Taliban detonated a bomb on a fuel tanker. After the bomb blast they open fire on other NATO supply trucks. In total 22 vehicles were destroyed. The fuel and other goods destined for coalition forces were destroyed. Also killed yesterday in Afghanistan were a suicide bomber and the three Afghan soldiers he killed and nine other government troops died in an attack in the south. Three NATO service members were also killed in insurgent attacks.

Yesterday in America, John McCain condemned the indefensible attacks on Huma Abedin, a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Huma is also the wife of Anthony Weiner, and the mother to a child less than a year old. The attacks were led by Michele Bachmann and four other Republican lawmakers who asserted that Huma was infiltrating the U.S. government on behalf of radical Islamists in the Muslim Brotherhood. These outrageous attacks were described by McCain as “specious and degrading.” Michele Bachmann has repeatedly invoked the importance of God in her life with supporting people who advocate killing of people because of their sexual orientation.

Then there was the interview of George Zimmerman when he indicated he had no regret or remorse for his conduct in killing Trayvon Martin.

Each of these stories reflected the tragedy of hate in our world. On the same day, for “entertainment,” some people watched as Bristol and Willow Palin appeared on the ‘reality” show Life’s a Tripp. If you watched you saw this clip:

In one and one-half minutes of tape we are reminded of numerous examples of why a single teenage mother should be banned from having a child. It reminds me of Keanu Reeves’ statement in the movie Parenthood, about the lack of guidelines, or requirements for a person to become a parent.

A child psychologist could devote an entire book to the multiple failures of parenting contained in this clip. Even Bristol admitted that she is a failure at disciplining Tripp. It is not surprising that the child named for his grandpa’s prostitute Shailey Tripp has some anger issues. It is not surprising that given the way Bristol was raised, that she is a total failure at parenting Tripp.

Yet the most troublesome part of the excerpt is the statement Tripp makes repeatedly that I “hate” you. At only three years old, we can be sure he learned that phrase from his mother, and she learned it from her mother. We have endured the last three years of listening and reading about the hate spewed by Sarah Palin. Her attacks have been directed at Obama, reporters, and religious groups including Muslims. She hates celebrities. She hates America and its president. She even hates members of the Republican Party, and they hate her.

It is ironic that the woman who claims to have a Servant’s Heart, hates so much that she has taught her children to hate, and they’ve not only taught their kids to hate, but they are documenting this hate on national television. Martin Luther King Jr. said:

“Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him. “

King also said:

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

At the age of three years old Tripp has already learned to hate. It doesn’t matter how many jobs we create, businesses we grow, or taxes we cut. If we are driven by hate we will not thrive as a country or as a planet.

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