Three Voices on a Thin Line

Hatred is increased by being reciprocated, and can on the other hand be destroyed by love. Hatred which is completely vanquished by love passes into love; and love is thereupon greater, than if hatred had not preceded it.—Baruch Spinoza

I wish I could believe this, but I cannot, except in exceptional cases where the person hating is completely in the power of the person who refuses to hate in return…so long as the wicked have power, it is not much use assuring them that you do not hate them, since they will attribute your words to the wrong motive. And you cannot deprive them of power by non-resistance.—Lord Bertrand Russell.

Reading Russell on Spinoza today was startling after yesterday's reflections. Spinoza believed that all good and evil were within a complete whole, all things happen according to the divine will, and our only great emotion should be the intellectual love of God in which we try to approach this truth through love and contemplation. This renders my struggle with forgiveness moot and also means I should stop worrying about how I'm going to find a job, or if I really make mistakes in my job interviews, or if people don't like me or call me racist or keep me from feeling financially or emotionally or spiritually secure. It stresses a near stoic nobility which is very attractive to me, especially as a bit of a determinist myself…but I still feel and hurt even as I try to love my enemies and accept the world as it is. I think, then, that the real secret is to fight for the just and right while practicing a loving, open spirit even to those who oppose you…to do the opposite of Westboro. There is indeed evil which is beyond my control, but that does not mean I should sit by and fight against evil. There is a possibility to bring change even as you let the loving, gracious world in. Russell was right that we cannot combat hatred through pure love, but wrong when he does not agree with Spinoza. Love can, as Spinoza's spiritual descendant Marvin Gaye put it, conquer hate when we combine love with action…which is indeed not emotion. Writing this made me feel a lot better about my existence. I pray it did the same for yours.—Andrew J. Rostan

Read this fantastic article by Eric Alterman: http://www.thenation.com/article/37165/kabuki-democracy?page=full. And send good vibes to me, the S.O., and all our job-hunting friends!