It's the emotion of hatred I'm arguing against, Mack, not the legitimate courage and resolve to defend oneself against an attack.

It's also natural to feel the emotion of hatred when under extreme threat from some persecutor, but it's still not a useful emotion...and it's particularly damaging when people hand onto it long after the threat has vanished.

The Nazis did not see themselves as evildoers, they saw themselves as defenders of all that was good and decent. They saw themselves as the saviours of Western Christian society. (They weren't anything of the sort, but that's how they saw it!) The fact that their key leaders, such as Hitler, Goebbels, Himmler and many others pandered so much to the emotion of hatred to establish a following pretty well guaranteed that the Nazi movement would end up being a very destructive one, and sow the seeds of its own demise.

So, watch out for leaders who work hard on the hatred angle, I'd say. That would include both Mr Bin Laden AND the Bush administration, who are each intent on hating each other to the bitter end.

I prefer warriors who respect their adversaries, honor them, and see in them a reflection of themselves...but it takes a lot of vision to do that, and it doesn't occur to most people most of the time.

What made the Nazis strong and effective was their love of country, their patriotism, their discipline, and the other positive emotions that underlay their sense of duty. What made them weak and doomed them at last to a bitter defeat was their unthinking allegiance to the power of hatred. They finally had created just a few too many enemies. I think the same thing may happen to the USA eventually, if it persists in empire-building all over the world by military force and financial blackmail.

You're right that hating Hitler and the Nazis was a strong motivator for Allied soldiers, but loving what they were fighting for was a stronger one, I believe. Everyone who willingly fights in a war fights primarily in defence of his own identity and that which he knows and loves. (which is exactly what most German soldiers were doing, but they had very misguided leadership at the top).

To assume that the enemy is "evil" is a simplistic and usually highly inaccurate assumption...but it makes great sounding propaganda. Just ask Goebbels about that.

As for sociopaths and psychotics...they are sick people. What good could it possibly do to hate a sick person? You don't have to hate him to stop him from hurting people, you just have to take appropriate actions...in defence of what you love.

- LH