By Rev. Donald L. Perryman, Ph.D.
The Truth Contributor
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. – Martin Luther King, Jr.
In his book 9 Things You Simply Must Do to Succeed in Love and Life, Dr. Henry Cloud asserts that the essence of one’s character is revealed by the things we choose to hate and the things we stand for and against.
When directed the right way, or “hating well,” the term Cloud uses, it pushes us to “solve real problems rather than creating them.”
On the other hand, “subjective or misplaced hatred” often arises from unresolved hurt or deeper character flaws like pride or a need for control. This destructive emotion undermines success in solving real problems by fueling overreactions, conflicts, and broken relationships while sabotaging the goals and efforts of those who harbor it.
The proliferation of symbolic legislation like Representative Josh Williams’ Ohio House Bill 700, which proposes to make it a felony for athletes to plant flags on Ohio Stadium, is a prime example.
Lucas County has one of the lowest life expectancies in Ohio, with residents in Representative Williams’ hometown dying nearly a decade earlier than those in wealthier Delaware County, Ohio.
Rather than directing anger toward things worthy of hate, such as healing a sick healthcare system, addressing gun violence, poverty, homelessness, housing affordability or unemployment or underemployment, Williams’ burning zeal for a meaningless and symbolic law that panders to cultural divides instead of the real issues he should be tackling has made him the butt of jokes on talk shows and other national media.
This same tepid response toward serious issues also appears in other policy decisions. Pete Hegseth, whose past includes allegations of sexual assault and professional misconduct, is currently a highly touted potential Secretary of Defense nominee.
Despite his dubious background, he’s being painted by many as the victim—a move straight out of the “protect the patriarchy” playbook. The truth is that the system has long protected men with this ancient caveman-like thinking, and this rabid pushback against accountability highlights the deep fear of the demographical changes threatening the old guard’s grip on power.
Yet, in the meantime, homophobic and transphobic lawmakers focus on attacking LGBTQ+ rights and creating panic over issues affecting less than 0.02 percent of Ohioans, a tiny fraction of the population.
It is fear dressed up as action. It is fear of change, diversity, and a future where they don’t call all the shots. Or, as Cloud declares, “hate shows us who they really are: people running scared of progress.”
The Numbers Don’t Lie, People Do.
Some politicians (whose leader won the election by 1.3 percent of the vote and got less than 50 percent but call it a mandate) truly fear that the traditional power structure—white, patriarchal and Christian Nationalist—is crumbling. But demographics tell a different story. Nonwhite and non-Christian communities are growing. Immigrants boost the economy and bring vitality to society. Trying to exclude diverse groups and shut them out reveals not only fear and misplaced hate but also shortsightedness.
The flag-planting controversy sums it all up. The far-right Conservative Party has built an entire political and ideological platform of hate by planting metaphorical flags on women’s bodily autonomy, public schools, voting rights and gerrymandering, and transgender and LGBTQ+ people—all driven by fear.
The ironic move to ban literal flag-planting on sports fields shows they fear losing, both on the field and in life. As someone put it, “Losers don’t want to be confronted.” Instead of addressing real challenges, they hide behind symbolic battles that make them look macho or hypermasculine while solving nothing.
We now know who Ohio’s leaders and others like them truly are. They have a choice to make.
They can keep planting flags in fear, or they can put hate where it truly belongs by having the courage to tackle the issues that really matter.
Hating well means leaving behind the cheap wins of culture wars and doing the hard work of progress. Anything less is letting the people down.
Contact Rev. Donald Perryman, PhD, at drdlperryman@enterofhopebaptist.org