Love and kindness are two commonly overused nouns. Intellectually, it is easy to dismiss the words as unimportant and trite, perhaps even juvenile to the extreme. Yet, on closer examination, it is clear that love is the strongest force on earth. It has never been defeated by hate. Of course, hatred reigns, at times, throughout history, but hatred cannot conquer the force of love. Should we dismiss the word as if it were too maudlin to be worthy of contemplation? To dismiss "love" as meaningless or not intellectually significant is to sentence oneself to death. The pursuit of love, whether romantic or not, is man’s noblest quest. How can we know that love is stronger than hate? The easiest way to determine the truth of this assertion is to examine your own thoughts and actions. When hate is your motivating force, what happens to your innermost soul? Conversely, when love encompasses your mind and being, what physical reactions do you experience? Although hate is a powerful emotion, it destroys the hater more quickly than the object of the hatred. On the other hand, love embraces he/she who loves and creates within that person a formidable might. In short, to love and to be loved is significant. In the end, only kindness matters. Even in the harshest times in history, the wickedest acts are forgotten by a kind deed. The Holocaust is replete with stories of heinous crimes, but what stands out in most survivors’ anecdotes are the decent actions of fellow human beings. I think that we scoff at the words "love and kindness" because we fear their power. To pretend that they are simplistic or childish is to ignore history and truth.

Log in or register to write something here or to contact authors.