By Patrick Robinson

We live in a world of nearly instant amplification now. It was not always this way.

The speed of communications and the breakdown of both social norms and barriers have

contributed to this. The competition for attention has never been greater. That leads people, news organizations, and special interest groups to use tools that get as much attention as possible. They pursue what works.

What works more often than not is the manipulative power of hate. It works because it stirs up a strong emotional response, and produces adrenaline and cortisol, as part of the fight or flight mechanism in our sympathetic nervous system. The flip side of that is our parasympathetic nervous system, sometimes referred to as the “rest and digest” state.

In our evolutionary past, when we had to run from a predator or respond to an attack, fight or flight responses were useful. We were not being stimulated to anger or escape multiple times a day. But now we spend time on our phones, or listen to the radio or watch news, or get emails, or see a wide variety of forms of advertising, much of the stream of information meant to get your attention, keep it, and keep you coming back. The people behind all this messaging have developed incredibly advanced skills to control your attention behavior.

So, in terms of getting attention, and keeping you in an echo chamber, hate works.

Hate makes money. Hate motivates people to action. Hate gets people elected.

But in my view, it doesn’t go much further. Hate is really about short term and pointedly direct goals. It’s proven to be useful in defeating enemies. It makes people join together in a common cause. But there’s no disguising its ugliness. Look at any dictator in history. From Hitler to Khadaffi, from Stalin to Pol Pot. The most common images of them show them with mouth open, face contorted, spewing anger and spreading darkness. What did any of them accomplish with their lives? What is their lasting legacy? What did hate accomplish?

To defeat them, required demonizing them even beyond their evil. Hate had to be used to defeat hate but at what cost? More lives have been cast aside in the name of hate than any other belief.

I get that it’s somewhat boring to see a happy family, well adjusted kids, educated and caring parents. It’s not very exciting to hear a politician share their positive vision and then tout their genuine accomplishments. It doesn’t really stir the blood. It doesn’t motivate you to share your own feelings with others, over and over again to make the adrenaline pour into your legs to make you move. It doesn’t make you buy a hat, or a poster or donate to a cause.

I believe it is because those kinds of stories or facts make you feel relaxed, not stressed, not angry, and not contemplating some angry response. There’s no echo chamber for love.

In some quarters, that was at least one purpose for the churches. To provide a welcoming environment and like minded people who would be there as support should you need it.

Those institutions and others are still out there of course, but a recent survey suggests that religious attendance has declined significantly in the past two years. The share of regular churchgoers is down by 6 percentage points, from 34% in 2019 to 28% in 2021. So faith and support are fading.

What I’m getting at here is that hate destroys, and love builds. No great accomplishment in the history of

mankind was truly motivated by hate. The Great Wall, yes fear was part of it but it was built over centuries to protect territory. It wasn’t an aggressive attack. The great pyramid of Giza was built by workers who wanted to honor their Pharoh. The Boeing 747, an incredibly successful aircraft was built by people who loved flying, and loved the company and wanted to create something so more people could travel in comfort.

Again, love builds, hate destroys.

So the next time you feel hatred welling up inside you about taxes, or a new law, or a particular politician, check yourself. Stop.

Ask yourself if there’s a way instead to build something out of love that’s better.