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Elaine_s_Cross
Guest
That was exaclty my point, Steph, and it doesn’t matter if it comes from the left or the right.
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gilliam
Guest
I said: Originally Posted by gilliam
Hate erodes us from the inside out. It is never productive.
To which:
walstan:
I don’t hate homosexuals
Attack the behavior, not the person.
take care.
Hate erodes us from the inside out. It is never productive.
To which:
of course
I don’t hate Democrats, I hope they don’t hate either.
Catholics don’t hate homosexuals (you misspelled it by the way)
I don’t hate homosexuals
I don’t hate sinners, I hate the sin and I will FIGHT against it. But hate will eat you alive. Don’t yield to it. It is the devil’s play thing.
Yes, it would be best to stay away from personal attacks.
Attack the behavior, not the person.
take care.
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thestickman
Guest
My experience is the only folks who feel they are being labeled as anti-American are the ones doing the complaining. They seem to throw that label around their own necks as an automatic self-defense mechanism when someone asks them to validate their complaints against the government or the administration.
I’m 100% behind a person’s right to complain about the government or the administration. However, if I read your complaint and challenge you to prove your argument I’m not questioning your patriotism. Just your argument.
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KathleenElsie
Guest
**I believe that we confuse hate and distrust in many cases. We also seem to forget that we can respect the person as a human being, but not respect the decisions that the person makes.
We can decide to no longer socialize with someone and still love them in Christ. We can forgive someone for what they have done and still make the decision to stay away from them in social situations.
As Christians and as a Catholic we are told not to hate a person. We are not tols IMHO not to hate a situation or a persons actions.
GOD BLESS
**
We can decide to no longer socialize with someone and still love them in Christ. We can forgive someone for what they have done and still make the decision to stay away from them in social situations.
As Christians and as a Catholic we are told not to hate a person. We are not tols IMHO not to hate a situation or a persons actions.
GOD BLESS
**
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Steph700
Guest
I wish other people on the forum who have told me to revoke my citizenship and move to Canada b/c I don’t deserve to be an American anymore shared your views. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been called anti-american b/c I voiced my opinion. But I’m glad you’re not like them.
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thestickman
Guest
Can you post a link to any past threads/posts where this was done, please?
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Steph700
Guest
Take my word for it. I don’t feel like doing that kind of research today.
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Fitz
Guest
Steph, I believe that some have been very unkind. Some have also been reprimanded by the mods for it, and they desreved it. I believe that my original question is “can we hate our leaders?” I meant to stick to that really. I have been around the forums enough to know that either side has offenders. I have my bias as to who does it more. I have never found your posts to be extreme. I don’t always agree with you to be sure, but only in matters of politics.
However, I think that the hatred in some comments about our leaders and the disprespect that some show to our leaders on this forum is ignorant, unchristian, and quite frankly should not be tolerated. I feel strongly about it and I will follow up on it.
Let’s face it, if we are a Christian Catholic site, then we should exhibit our own Christian beliefs or not be tolerated. We can agree to disagree Steph and still be Christ like. I am not speaking obviuosly to just you so don’t think that I am. I am speaking to everyone here. Can’t we do a better job?
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aimee
Guest
We can do a better job and should. It really interferes with dialogue about issues. But having said that…folks aren’t so thin skinned that they can’t take a few ‘jabs’ at the political idealogy of the other…as long as its not 'what word am I looking for here?
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Steph700
Guest
I definitely think we can do a better job. Hatred is not appropriate and I don’t think people of character (Catholic or not) should behave that way.
But… as with most things in life… there are shades of gray. One person may express criticism of the government- for instance in respect to the response to Katrina- and another member may interpret the criticism as hatred while the original author never had this intent.
Where do we draw the line? What is hatred and what is healthy criticism? Is it in the eye of the beholder?
On the other end of the spectrum, what is the difference between supporting the government (or a specific leader) or blindly and unquestioningly backing every action or policy the government or specific leader supports? I think criticism is ALWAYS necessary in a democracy (and I’m sure most members out there do too) but in some cases we are doing a disservice to ourselves by practically idolizing a political figure.
This is one of the most frustrating issues in my eyes.
But… as with most things in life… there are shades of gray. One person may express criticism of the government- for instance in respect to the response to Katrina- and another member may interpret the criticism as hatred while the original author never had this intent.
Where do we draw the line? What is hatred and what is healthy criticism? Is it in the eye of the beholder?
On the other end of the spectrum, what is the difference between supporting the government (or a specific leader) or blindly and unquestioningly backing every action or policy the government or specific leader supports? I think criticism is ALWAYS necessary in a democracy (and I’m sure most members out there do too) but in some cases we are doing a disservice to ourselves by practically idolizing a political figure.
This is one of the most frustrating issues in my eyes.
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aimee
Guest
As I read your post…I see several words that jump out at me…blindly…unquestioningly…backing every action. also, idolizing a political figure.
Who does this??
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Guar_Fan
Guest
In medio stat virtus.
Virtue stands in the middle - not in the extreme position.
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koda
Guest
Have you ever tried to see the other person’s point of view? I don’t mean this uncharitably because I’ve just had a hard lesson on this myself. I didn’t - the second I saw where someone else was coming from (or where I thought they were coming from) I reacted. Luckily, God pointed out my error with a sharp stick. Now I really spend time considering where others are coming from and why they feel as they do. It changes us from faceless agitators to people. I’m usually labeled a liberal, though my own lable for myself is Christian. Also, we’ve got to give each other’s sources a fair shake (usually the truth is somewhere in the middle of the two - we’ve got to remember that both sides have agendas).
On the original subject: no, we shouldn’t hate anybody.
Blind loyalty? I think not. Remember Stalin, Hitler, Mao (to name few in a very long list).
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aimee
Guest
Very nice post
son logique (its logical)
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Fitz
Guest
So, according to all of you we really can’t hate our leaders. I agree with that obviously. We can argue our positions and explain our reasons. None of us have all the answers, but we need to dialogue. We need to be able to dialogue without being labeled and insulted. There is enough of that sentiment out there in the unchristian world. Thank you all for responding.
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Steph700
Guest
I know I certainly have in the past.
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vern_humphrey
Guest
That’s called projecting.
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Steph700
Guest
vern humphrey:
I’m not sure I see what your point is…
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Guar_Fan
Guest
I have known individuals who enjoy political debating, who have hardened in their positions to the point of thinking that their side can do no wrong (or that they can not/will not admit to shortcomings in their position).
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