Over many centuries a particular type of crime has been held at bay. This is due to the limitations of mass attacks of this nature. What is this heinous crime? It is the assault, even murder, of peace, love, and joy.
The Perpetrator
Assaults with weapons such as guns, knives, fists, and other similar methods have the disadvantage of being caught and incarcerated for years. This effectively ends an individual the ability to continue a long-term campaign of mayhem.
It has been quoted that the pen is mightier than the sword. Today, that quote should read, “The keyboard is mightier than the sword.” An ordinary person in the past could only use the “pen” weapon on one or a few individuals at a time unless they owned a newspaper or wrote a book. Now, with the advent of social media, anyone with a computer or smartphone can launch an onslaught against peace, love, and joy to millions. The ammunition is words propelled by emotion; the words are the bullets, and emotions are the powder – bang, bang, bang!
These words are custom designed to destroy your feeling of peace, goodwill, and happiness. They are sent by emotions such as anger, fear, hate, and, when appropriate, despair and resentment. The effectiveness of this type of weapon is magnified exponentially by the fact that others of like mind can repeat and forward them to another large group. In effect, one individual can reach millions.
The Victims
Fortunately, not all the ammunition sent out reaches those who would become victims. Of course, any casualty of this vicious aggression is too many. Some decide to fight back. Having lost their peace, love, and joy, they return fire, using the same tactics as the perpetrator. Thus becoming a perpetrator themselves.
Others may become, over time, feeling sadder and more hopeless. Some would say this state is worse than fighting back. In either case, losing one’s peace, love, and joy is terrible. One could say this is “hell” for both the perpetrators and victims.
The Victors
Perhaps you thought there were no victors? Of course, there are, and you know who you are, don’t you? You face malicious attacks with strength and without fear. Oh, there may have been the occasional dent in the armor or the shallow wound that healed right away, but you always recover nicely. You are the champions, the givers of love, the spreaders of kindness, and the words that uplift. You are aware of the divine in your own way of expressing it, knowing that the “you” is all of us, and act accordingly.
Justice
There is no justice without forgiveness. There is no reforming without love. There is no relief for perpetrators without redress of wrongs committed. Victors know to change the world around us, we first have to change ourselves. Correcting injustice by pointing to truth is valid, but not in anger or retaliation. This only reinforces the unjust position. When the internet becomes a battlefield, we all lose the war. It is far better to spend our time posting positive messages and supporting kind ones than to try correcting bad behavior in negative ones.
Conclusion
So, a better world happens through you and me in our daily lives. It is not necessary to be a celebrity, a leader in the community, or in a position of power. Being loving, kind, cheerful, and forgiving to the people in your life is how anyone can change the world for the better. Indeed, it may be the most important task for most of us to do, no matter who we are. Never underestimate the power each of us has within us to use the talents we have to accomplish the miracles that we wish to see manifest. See it, believe it, and watch it become reality.
And so it is.