Five Reasons I Believe Hate Will Not Win the 2018 Midterm Election

In the last few days the pre-midterm-election rhetoric and divisiveness have ramped up. I found it pretty depressing until I took some time to check in with what I truly believe. I hope this blog post will inspire you to do the same.

Here are five reasons I believe hate will not win on November 6.

1. There are more kind people than hateful ones in our nation.

The hatemongers seem to get a lot of airtime, but overall, most Americans are kind, compassionate and desirous of a more civil political culture. From all the polls I’ve seen, more people are turned off than energized by hateful speech. That looks good for the midterm ahead.

2. The kind people are tired of being lied to. They are fired up and motivated to vote.

There’s no way to sugarcoat it. Our president tells so many lies it has become what we now expect of him. People who care about truth and integrity are motivated to vote for a balance of power on November 6. Even many Republicans are horrified at the casual way Donald Trump tells lies and how he cares only about one thing: gaining power.

3. Our nation was founded on resistance to authoritarianism.

We have a long history of bucking anyone or any political power that tries to bully us or our neighbors into submission. We threw off British authority and then fought a civil war to dismantle the evil practice of slavery. We don’t like bullies and are prepared to resist them at every turn.

4. Kind and compassionate people will never give in or give up.

Love has staying power. Collectively we will keep up resistance to oppression. Even if it takes the next generation to win hearts over, we will keep up the good fight. And we will continue to believe that love will win over hate — in the long run.

5. There is no place for hate to hide anymore.

Technology has placed video cameras in most everyone’s hands. Light shines in every corner where people are harassed, bullied or treated disrespectfully. Our “smart watches” even contain recording devices that can upload information to the cloud, making what used to be secret now transparent. While these technologies can be misused, we have seen them also call people into account for their words and deeds. It is harder to get away with lies, to the point that people who do lie have to be boldfaced about it, which ends up making them look ridiculous.

It is so important that those of us who value kindness, mercy and compassion not lose hope. One way I am fighting discouragement is to remember these five truths when I get down. It may feel like our country is headed toward a nightmare of authoritarianism, but in reality we can stop the worst of it in its tracks.

That is, if we vote in the midterm for people who share our values on November 6.

Check out my latest book. “Spiritual Direction 101: The Basics of Spiritual Guidance,” published by Apocryphile Press that addresses many aspects of this practice. It’s also available on Amazon.

Also, I enjoy sharing emails with people who have questions about spiritual direction. I may be reached at [email protected] or via my website www.teresablythe.net. I do have openings for spiritual direction clients if you are interested.

We want to know what you think about the upcoming midterm elections. Vote in our poll below!