How to Solve All the World’s Problems
You know what our world needs: more love, less contempt.
Arthur C Brooks, Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt
“Those people are the problem. They are destroying our future.”
To paraphrase a cartoon character from the 1970s, we have met “those people” and those people are us.
“They” are not the problem; we are the problem.
We say love conquers all.
But our weapon of choice is contempt.
You may have heard that we need to “Stop Hate.”
And how do we attempt to do that?
With contempt for “those people.”
Contempt, however, doesn’t conquer anything.
No matter the problem, contempt makes it worse.
Contempt is more destructive than hate.
It believes “those people” don’t even deserve our hate.
About now, you’re wondering which political position I hold, so you can know whether to agree with me.
But this is not about politics.
It is about people. It is about us.
It is about marriages.
It is about work conflict.
It is about people who report their neighbors to the authorities anonymously.
Anywhere you find people, you will find contempt.
And yes, because there are people in politics, it is also about politics.
What exactly is contempt?
When we have contempt for others . . .
· We focus on how we are different.
· We feel superior.
· We justify ourselves by condemning them.
· We distrust their motives and intentions.
· We have no desire to understand them.
· We see their actions in the worst possible light.
· We suddenly develop the ability to read minds.
“I would love them if they weren’t so contemptible.”
Love is a choice.
We don’t love our people because they are better.
We think they are better because we love them.
The Italian language has two ways to express love.
The familiar amore refers to romantic love.
“Ti voglio bene” translates literally as “I want good for you.”
We don’t have to agree with people to want good for them.
We don’t even have to like them.
We just have to see them as fellow human beings who have value just because they exist.
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