Building a Better World: Protecting Children from Hate
It is essential that we take steps to protect children from the spread of hate and create a better world for them to grow up in.
“Hate is too great a burden to bear. It injures the hater more than it injures the hated.” — Coretta Scott King
In today’s society, love and understanding are often overlooked. We can find ourselves hating someone, even in our sleep, without them knowing. This hatred only harms ourselves rather than the person we hate. We may also push them away from us and the people around us. Hatred is a widespread issue that primarily affects the hater and not the person they hate.
Society doesn’t teach us to love; it teaches us to hate. When the innocent child first begins to learn words, they hear hateful words and feelings from their surroundings, for example, preventing them from visiting their aunt’s room. After some time, they get a list of houses that they are not allowed to visit, as well as a list of those they can. As they go further in life, they learn to hate a particular group. When they attend religious ceremonies, they feel hatred towards opposing beliefs. When they read textbooks, they receive lessons on hating other nations and countries. We grow up learning to hate, and that is why we are experts in it.
Once I was busy with the children, teaching them using blocks. They were given various tasks to perform with the blocks. I was momentarily distracted, then noticed that the toys were arranged unusually on the floor. I realized what was happening and asked, “Son! What is this?” They claimed it was their army and that the enemy soldiers had been shot. This is the perspective of a four-year-old child who has just started school. Listen to our elders: on special occasions, they give their children toy pistols and rifles. The longer the barrel of the gun defines the closeness of the child.
Have your parents, school, or society taught you to hate? Do you believe it was incorrect? How are you going to protect your child from such hatred?
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