2019 – 8th Grade National 4th Place Winner

Anthony Frigo, Florida.

 

What has a Bigger Impact on Society: Love or Hate?

The emotions triggered by hate are more powerful physically and emotionally than love. The way people react when they see a hate crime, school shooting or other harmful epidemic, is far stronger than when they see a young boy singing the anthem or helping older woman cross the street. Take 9/11 for example, when former military veterans witnessed this horrible atrocity, they reenlisted. Hate inspires people to take action.

Hate has been socially accepted by the media and society. A wise teacher once told me, “you become what you accept.” The people you hang around also shape who you become. If your friends are bullies, and you watch hateful behavior, you will eventually also become a bully unless you disassociate from that group. The media aggravates this problem very intensely because you see it so many hateful stories in the news. This “friend group” of the media is one that is too big to leave. Hating something or someone is now socially accepted. Social media has contributed to this problem because people make comments that would not be socially acceptable in person. It's easy to find people who share your views on social media. When started as a viral tweet, ended in a political mess when a student in MAGA hat attending the March for life rally encountered a Native American man. What was shown by the media was not the whole story but people believed what they wanted to believe that day, contributing to a movement that ultimately led to death threats- all because people wanted to believe a hateful story that mainstream media was quick to judge. We embrace hate to protect our self esteem or to defend community beliefs.

Hate makes people feel cool; It gives them authority and power. Indeed, every other emotion seems to stem from hate. Things like jealousy, greed, despair, and redemption ride in on the emotion of hate. Hate has fueled most of the major news where the world events through the years. Think about it. If you look through the history books, you will find evidence of hate and events like: The Holocaust, the enslavement of blacks (and others), wars, hate crimes, school shootings, serial killings, rape, kidnapping and torture.

Yes, hate IS stronger than love, because human nature makes it that way. We show how important it is through our treatment of others and constant featuring of hate in the media. When most of the major historical events in our world involved intense hatred, it speaks volumes. The power that the media abuses constantly showing hate in the news has a great impact on society. We show our belief in the ultimate power of hate every time the media publishes those stories, every time we talk about it on social media, every time we talk with our friends about it. Hate is stronger than love, but only because we allow it to be. We can reverse that trend, but we have to believe it. We have to live it.

 

 

 

 

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