{Hate, my friend, is the devil's path, and we shall leave its ash-strewn surface without a single footprint. Always the temptation to walk it is a platter of logical and compelling reasons, ones that boost the ego and frame false-heroes. There is no prize worth the corruption of your soul; hate brings only pain and the cycles of destruction upon us all.}
Angela Abraham

*****

Where is America going? That's a great question for this writing prompt, and one I ask myself every time I read the news.

I've lived here all my life, in the deep south, and in the far north, and a few places in between. It is my home, and I appreciate my constitutional rights, guarded freedoms, and the blood sacrifices given by so many to preserve it. By contrast, America is a troubled place right now, alarming really.

I don't have the time in this article to address all my concerns, but I will address two: hatred for one another based on color, which is the textbook definition of racism; and hatred towards God.

The most disturbing thing to me is to see this social culture of hate, brewing and spreading like a dark cloud over our land. The newest seems to be a white-based racism towards our nation's founding fathers.

I take any racism very seriously, as it has been at the center of many conflicts, wars, Anti-Semitism, ethnic cleansings, and genocide.

Several FanStorians have contacted me to express their fears and concerns, asking for prayer. Usually their upset was triggered by something they'd just read online, or were dragged into on social media. I completely understand, especially in light of everything else going on in our troubled world.

Second, is God hatred; many turning against God, assuming He is white. This is both unfortunate and untrue. God is spirit, the Bible says, and He created mankind in His likeness. There is nothing in the good book about God's color, color preference, or even His political persuasion.

A person's skin is nothing more than variety to Him, as seen in the beautiful flowers and landscapes of the earth. For me, color is beautiful because it reflects my wonderful God.

America, do you not see the trouble we are in here, and how far we have drifted from truth? From God? I do.

A case in history to persuade you--

A seething hatred started with one man, a lance corporal in the Bavarian Army who blamed the Jewish people for his ills, and their country's defeat in the Great War. Unfortunately, his hatred didn't end in the First World War, it festered and had grown foul. He mounted his case against the Jews, and all those he considered physically inferior, and brought it forward. His armies killed millions, unspeakable atrocities carried out without remorse. We know him as Chancellor of Germany, Adolf Hitler.

73,000,000 to 1! World War II... the power of one person's hatred!

I am white, with ice-blonde hair and blue-gray eyes. God made me. My French ancestors have been here since the 1600s, settlers in Isle of Wight, Virginia. Most of them were farmers, lawyers, homemakers, artists, teachers and soldiers by profession. I have had good people in my family, and bad. Tell me, who doesn't? If you study your ancestors, you might be surprised, even shocked by the persons represented there. I laughed, cried, blushed, and shouted hallelujah, reading my ancestral records.

Here's the thing, and there's really no getting around it. My character and spirit, not my colored exterior, makes me the unique person I am. I am not my ancestors, nor am I the bearer of my ancestors' sins. I am not your oppressor, or your enemy, because I am white. That theory is a false one, and racist to the core.

Everyone has their own sins to bear; I don't own your sin, and you don't own mine. Each person lives his or her own life, and appears before God at the end to give an account.

It's a miserable thing to be falsely accused, and have someone else's sins laid at your door. How would you feel if a relative committed a heinous crime and the authorities came and punished you for it? Imprisoned you? Beat you? Fined you? Rioted on your lawn? Burned down your house? Ruined your business? This happens in Portland, Oregon on a nightly basis as BLM and Antifa rage on. These rioters are fuming with hate, even killing their own precious babies in the crossfire!

Are we really going back there as nation? Have we learned nothing from our history? World history? Unfortunately, many have embraced this hatred, killing themselves on the inside, and taking our nation down with them.

A recent commentary from comedian, and "Real Time" Host, Bill Maher.

"Blind hatred of America is just as blinkered as blind love. And we Americans should really get some perspective about where we live," Maher began his monologue. "Watching this s--- go down in Afghanistan, I was reminded lately of every conversation I've ever had with an immigrant, almost all of which if we got to really talking, included the notion, 'Oh, you people have no idea. All you do is b---- about and badmouth your own country, but if you knew about the country I came from, you'd stop s----ing on your own.'" *Source

In my personal observations, hate doesn't come from a specific color, or country, it comes from a depraved sinful heart. It can affect anyone, and causes us to mount the horses of judgmentalism, bias, bigotry, anti-Semitism, violence, destruction, human subjugation, and racism. Once murder occurs in our hearts, it's not long before the manifestation.

Slavery still exsists in several places throughout the world, but not in America. Did you know that? Hatred has kept our nation's wounds open and inflamed; and unfortunately, it has kept us from healing.

For you to consider--

There are an estimated 45.8 million people around the world currently trapped in modern slavery, including 6,500 people in Canada, a charity said Tuesday. The Walk Free Foundation, a global organization aimed to end modern slavery, released its 2016 Global Slavery Index in London, England, on Tuesday, shedding light on slavery in 167 countries.

According to the index, 58 percent of the estimated 45.8 million of those living in slavery reside in five countries: India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Uzbekistan.

Of the 167 countries, the highest estimated prevalence of slavery by population ratio is North Korea (4.37 percent), Uzbekistan (3.97 percent), Cambodia (1.65 percent), India (1.40 percent), and Qatar (1.36 percent), according to the index.

However, based on what the charity calls "absolute numbers," India remains the highest with an estimated 18.35 million people living in slavery, followed by China (3.39 million), Pakistan (2.13 million), Bangladesh (1.53 million), and Uzbekistan (1.23 million).**Source

I leave you with the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Much like Dr. King, I, too, want to know others by their character, and for them to know mine. I have much to offer as I have been changed by the transformative power of Jesus Christ. I've been set free from the chains of sin, hatred, bondage, lies, and addiction. You can be free as I am. Let it go, and let God's forgiveness wash you clean. A free people make a free nation.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed. We hold these truths to be self-evident that [all men are created equal.]

I have a dream that one day out in the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to [sit down together at the table of brotherhood.]

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be [transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.]

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where [they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by their character.]

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; that one day right down in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to [join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.]

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be engulfed, every hill shall be exalted and every mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plains and the crooked places will be made straight and the [glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.]

This is our hope. This is the faith that I will go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to [hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.]

With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a [beautiful symphony of brotherhood.]

With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to climb up for freedom together, knowing that we will be [free one day.]

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. [Land where my father's died, land of the Pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!"]

[And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.] So let freedom ring from the hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that, let freedom, ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi and every mountainside.

When we let freedom ring, when we let it ring from every tenement and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, [black men] and [white men], [Jews] and [Gentiles], [Protestants] and [Catholics], will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old spiritual, "Free at last, free at last. Thank God Almighty, [we] are free at last.
***Source