Love, Hate, and Extremism

What would be the simple differences between the left and right nowadays in the political climate? The Gemara in Brachot 3b-4a has an interesting observation, “How did King David know the exact moment of midnight if Moses himself didn’t know when it was, as we see him telling Pharaoh in Exodus 11:4, “So said God, at about midnight, I will go out upon Egypt and kill all your firstborn.” If Moses didn’t know when midnight was, how did David know to awaken at that specific time each night to praise God our Lord? The Talmud explains that Moses actually knew the exact moment midnight struck, but he feared that the Egyptian stargazers and sorcerers would mistakenly miscalculate and although all firstborn would be dead, they would argue that they died at 12:01 and that Moses is a liar.

We see the media nowadays acting pretty much in the same way. The left is pretty clear with their lies and deceit, but the right is not totally clean from this either. Both sides like to exaggerate their positions and stances and most of all knock down the other side with petty and childish nonsense. “Don’t you see children lying dead in school classrooms? Your children and firstborn are dead, but after all, some right wing commentator mis-gendered the shooter!” This is what Moses feared, he feared that the truth would be drug through the mud because there is a sect of non believers who make their living establishing nonsense as truth.

The British government has started arresting dissenting voices on the right. As the left has made it clear over the last couple of years, they believe that the right is what the Nazi party was and that’s why it still is today. Yes, the Nazis were far right and they should be remembered in infamy for the horrible atrocities they’ve performed and conducted. But aren’t they missing the point? Isn’t it the fact that they were extremists that led them to commit the greatest horrors known to mankind? And if the left (luckily) still considers the Nazis as the worst of mankind and the most terrible people, why then are they emulating their path with their extreme leftist ideology? Because you are on the left this time does not make it right for you to be an extremist!

I remember being a child and having a thought that I keep on hearing adults repeat nowadays. I would think to myself, “I should knock out the bully in my class so that he no longer bullies others.” It seems sensible for a child to fight hate with hate, but I learned pretty quickly that once I opened the door for hate in my life I was no better than the bully. Yes, I went in with good intentions and all, but it was only a matter of time before I got consumed with vicious ideas and I started dreaming of more ways to break the legs of his high and mighty throne.

With anything that we do in life we must be somewhat invested in the idea that we are pursuing in order to make it a reality. No one has ever had a brilliant plan that worked out on the first try, it requires dedication of the mind to be thinking constantly about this project so that new ideas form and we dream of better ways to achieve the goal. As soon as we give this idea our attention and affection we will start hanging out in that area of the mind and with some natural thought association we will slowly bring the big idea to fruition. It takes focus on our work to make us better and more efficient at it.

The same applies with love and hate. As we focus on our love and keep it in our minds and in front of our eyes for a while, it slowly but surely becomes the reason for every subsequent thought. As we close our eyes we are consumed with the thoughts of the one we love and that thought brings about the next related thought and so on linking itself from one good one to the next. Imagine a conversation with a friend, it starts with some small talk and then segues into the next topic that builds and grows for the next hour or more. The entire conversation all started with one subject and somehow the rest of the entire thought process is based on that beginning. 

We seek out ways to keep this riveting conversation flowing. Much like with thoughts about love, we want to continue up that rabbit hole so that our hearts can keep feeling this great pleasure and come up with more ways to bring this love to life. “What else can I do for my wife, friends and children? How can I show them that my life is complete with them around me and what can I implement to make it clear to myself and to them at all times that this is the greatest thing in my life? This is what we want and this is what we want to breathe for the rest of our life. We come up with stories that we wish to actualize and make our reality and bend nature in order to live that dream.

But what if one is consumed by hate and deceit? They will keep this thought on their minds and in front of their eyes for days on end. Much like the one in love, they are in love with hatred. Notably, hatred is the absence of love and works with the same intensity. Those are two extremes that consume man who are led by its will to do unthinkable things in order to show their deepest desires. We have to know how to balance it properly and not go crazy with our extremities. We see how the left has taken love and hate to a level of openly and brazenly proving their points in public. They march down Main street with no shame and call it pride, they commit the worst sins in the name of pride and love, and use every occasion to show their affection in the most lustful and demeaning ways. 

They have no balance in their lives which is largely due to a lack of values. And if they are so brazen with their love you better believe that they will do the same with their hatred. They keep their focus on the enemy and think of ways to undermine the opposition even if that means that they have to bend reality to make it happen. They will construe the meaning of words just so they can call someone on the right an imbecile and a lackey of compassion. They will impose the dumbest policies, like immigration and gender ideology just so they can be like the Egyptians astrologers who saw their world burn but still had a “Gotcha” segment on the mid-nightly news cycle.

We, as humans, have the ability to place our priorities on the front of our minds. These priorities will be the opening thought to our progression. For some it may be a deeply depressing thought that is constantly triggering them into further and deeper depression, and for some it may be the beauty of love that keeps them alive. As Dr. Frankel in his book, Man’s Search for Meaning, says, “[When one [in the concentration camps] stopped believing that his wife was still alive, he would die within one week.]” We need calming and reassuring thoughts to keep us sane, and it is our mindset that guides the steps in our life. Let us not be consumed by extremities, but rather focus on the good of each individual, the good of the world, and ultimately the good of God. 

David Lemmer is an Orthodox Jewish Author and Hypnotherapist. Watch his Videos on YouTube and find his books on Amazon. He can be reached at LemmerHypno@gmail.com