Microstory 989: Love

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You don’t need to read another essay on how love trumps hate, even one so short. I’m certainly not going to go into an explanation of my own personal feelings of love and sexuality. But maybe this is a good opportunity for me to explain myself on a more general level. I have what the kids these days call bitchy resting face. My smile makes me less attractive than I already am, and it feels incredibly unnatural. I’m also very quiet, so people assume that I’m a misanthrope. The truth is that I do have trouble around others. They suck out all my energy, and give me monumental amounts of anxiety, but that doesn’t mean I don’t like them. I’m not going to put a box over my head and shut the world out. I’m quite allergic to cats, but I don’t hate them either, because it’s not their fault. I have a lot of love for humanity. That’s why so many of my stories are disaster scenarios, because I have this indelible urge to protect others. The point of the story is not that the world ends, but that we still survive. One of my favorite movies is Interstellar. In one scene, one of the characters takes an abrupt break from the narrative, and goes off on this philosophical rant about how love is some kind of pervasive force of nature, that it spreads beyond our immediate targets, and adds to this collective energy of the universe. That’s how I recall how that scene played out anyway. I’m not sure if it’s true, but I can definitely appreciate the unmatchable power of love. Loving others is good for your health, so why doesn’t everyone do it? Why are there so many Trump supporters? I’ve gotten a lot of crap for saying stuff like that, but there’s no way it’s not true. Conservatives, specifically Republicans, do not care what happens to other people. Their platform is based on inequality, and it has been that way since long before Trump. Welfare, voting rights, public works, immigration; these are all love-based institutions, and Republicans time and time again vote against supporting them. “I actually love Mexicans, which is why I want to build a wall between me and them, and keep them away from me. That’s what I do with my family; we never see each other, there’s always a wall to separate us.” Do you see how ridiculous that sounds? Your wall is borne of hate and fear, and that legitimately makes you a bad person. Now before you start calling me a hypocrite, I never said love was unconditional. You must adhere to a set of common sense standards if you want me to love you, I’m not just gonna do it because you exist. You can’t rape someone, or murder innocent black people, or build a multibillion dollar wall. Love must be earned, and if you voted for one of the most hateful creatures in the world, you have a lot of work to do on yourself. I’ll love you once you prove to me that you deserve it.