The Theme Of Hate The Opposite Of Indifference: Is The Opposite Of Love
Is Hate the Opposite of Love or Is the Opposite of Love Indifference?
Not long ago a friend asked me, “What is the opposite of love?” Immediately, I answered, “Hate. (Hate is the opposite of love.” I could not foresee how that very simple and universally accepted premise would generate a heated debate lasting two hours.
You probably are saying to yourself, “How could he argue about the opposite of love is hate for two hours. I know were I in your shoes, I would be. So, imagine my reaction when my friend told me I was wrong and that the opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.
My friend’s response hit me like a bucket of ice cold water after a hot shower. I was stunned. In that moment I realized that he told me that I was wrong …show more content…
His speech is number seven in the Millennium Lecture Series hosted by President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. The main point of his speech was to explain the negative impact bystanders can have on the world being indifferent.
Indifference is the absence or lack of interest or desire to know a thing or to care enough to take action to interact with it or to change it. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines indifferent as “marked by a lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern for something.” Wiesel’s speech uses this definition referencing the specific context of world leaders and average citizens who were aware of the atrocities of the concentration camps and what the Germans were doing to the Jews but who chose impartiality, perhaps fearing for their own safety.
Wiesel argues that being forgotten or ignored is far worse than being hated noting that hate has inspired creativity whereas indifference is fallow. In this context, I agree with the idea that the opposite of feeling anything is the lack of feeling. However, it is necessary to explore the concepts love and hate to determine if the love’s opposite is not hate, but
Not long ago a friend asked me, “What is the opposite of love?” Immediately, I answered, “Hate. (Hate is the opposite of love.” I could not foresee how that very simple and universally accepted premise would generate a heated debate lasting two hours.
You probably are saying to yourself, “How could he argue about the opposite of love is hate for two hours. I know were I in your shoes, I would be. So, imagine my reaction when my friend told me I was wrong and that the opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.
My friend’s response hit me like a bucket of ice cold water after a hot shower. I was stunned. In that moment I realized that he told me that I was wrong …show more content…
His speech is number seven in the Millennium Lecture Series hosted by President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton. The main point of his speech was to explain the negative impact bystanders can have on the world being indifferent.
Indifference is the absence or lack of interest or desire to know a thing or to care enough to take action to interact with it or to change it. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines indifferent as “marked by a lack of interest, enthusiasm, or concern for something.” Wiesel’s speech uses this definition referencing the specific context of world leaders and average citizens who were aware of the atrocities of the concentration camps and what the Germans were doing to the Jews but who chose impartiality, perhaps fearing for their own safety.
Wiesel argues that being forgotten or ignored is far worse than being hated noting that hate has inspired creativity whereas indifference is fallow. In this context, I agree with the idea that the opposite of feeling anything is the lack of feeling. However, it is necessary to explore the concepts love and hate to determine if the love’s opposite is not hate, but