Unlocking the problem of hate

I was driving into work the other day -- heading up a steep, twisty hill that is part of the backroads shortcut that I take to the college -- when I started thinking about the old sayings: "You can't imprison an idea." "You can't kill an idea."

They come from a sentiment of the freedom fighters of history. A similar statement: "The pen is mightier than the sword."

For those of us who live in free societies, these are comforting thoughts. We take them as proof of the universal need for democracy and freedom. They are still comforting thoughts for those who today are locked up in prisons or house arrest because of brutal dictatorships. They offer hope that ultimately freedom will prevail over injustice.

But there is the other end of the gradient.

You may not be able to kill an idea like freedom, equality or justice. You may not be able to imprison such ideas. But it also is just as difficult to stomp out hate.

Those who hate the U.S. have attacked us, our soldiers and our allies. They continue to plan attacks.

And we have met their violence with our own.

But violence does not defeat hate, it creates more.

Violence results in martyrs and victims who can inspire a cause. When that cause is liberty, such victims and martyrs inspire freedom and democracy. When that cause is hate, they inspire more hate.

Have you not noticed that many terrorist attacks come not from al-Qaida itself but from "militants inspired by al-Qaida"? You could kill every single member of al-Qaida but still have a world-wide problem with terrorism.

Yes, we must answer our enemies with military force, but to truly defuse the potential force of our enemies we must unlock the problem of hate.