Returning to the original subject of the thread...I think it is unwise and unhealthy to hate anyone. Of hatred it is said that it consumes the vessel which contains it. Hatred, like all negative emotions, is very harmful to the nervous system and psyche of the one doing the hating, and it doesn't lead anywhere useful.

As for "enemies", the wise person doesn't have any...although some unwise people may name him or her their enemy on occasion, due to their own misunderstanding.

I have people I disagree with, but I don't have enemies. I have gone through periods of hating this or that person, not to any useful effect, I can assure you.

To say that I strongly disapprove of a political group or their actions is not to say I hate the people involved in it. I may be concerned about them, and I may have to take action regarding them, but why get drawn into hating them? It's a toxic emotion.

To recognize evil is prudent. To face it is courageous. To hate those practicing it is to fail to see them as the complete beings they are.

The best way to proceed in life is to decide what you love and put your energy there, where it can do the most good, rather than staying focused on what you hate.

I have to remind myself of this just as much and as often as anyone else, by the way.

- LH