Guest Post from Ramya: Love

In response to my recent post, Ramya Kumar was motivated to write.  We’re posting this as a guest post.  Ramya is a member of Boston University’s Class of 2010.  She is the youngest member ever elected to the MA Democratic State Committee, a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Scholar, and a 2009 John F. Kennedy Award recipient.

We have chosen a profound theme for this year’s Martin Luther King Day celebration; the theme of ‘Love.’

Love is a word that everyone has heard of, and that most people use on a day to day basis. Every morning across America, husbands rush out their doors with their briefcases in tow and call out, “I love you honey,” as they grab their coffees. Mothers say, “I love you,” as they hug their kids before dropping them off at the bus stop or at school. Some people sport shirts that say “I Heart (love) my dog or cat,” others say they love red wine, or that new Rihanna song on the radio. Most of us are well acquainted with how love is used to express romantic adoration, familial love, or affection for materialistic things.

But today we ask you to give some thought to the deeper more intricate meanings of Love; to recognize that Love does not always appear as it does on Valentine’s Day, in the taste of chocolates, in the scent of fresh flowers, or written into Hallmark cards.

The troubling reality of today is that Love has fallen victim to many who cheat her of her message, rendering it misunderstood, distorted, and garbled.

As a society we have come to respect each other, and to value our own worth through the worth of our financial assets, the make of our car, or our power and status in society. But how much do we emphasize doing right by others, speaking for those who find themselves voiceless, or standing up for those who have been beaten down by oppression and injustice? How often does this type of love hit our air waves, or radio waves? When was the last time you saw compassion for others featured in a music video amidst the flowing Dom Perignon, artists adorned by expensive chains and surrounded by dancing scantily clad females?

As a result, many of America’s youth think of the love I’m talking about as a sign of weakness. And to fight off this scourge of weakness, some kids will do anything to prove how tough they are. This may be cutting class, this may be purposefully destroying public property, this may be taking the gun to the head of someone you don’t know. This is truly saddening, as we are losing the true meaning of love.

What if we began measuring multimillion dollar box office sales from Hollywood Blockbusters or from baseball player signings in terms of how many mouths could be fed. What if the news reported $300,000,000 in ticket sales as, “James Cameron’s Avatar grossed enough to feed thousands of the world’s hungry children,  grossed enough to purchase hundreds of medical supplies for the world’s sick, grossed enough to house thousands of the world’s homeless?”

What if we weaved the language of love into the nightly news in this way? What if we weaved the language of love into the language of profits, capital gains, net worths?

Love can sometimes be confused for anger, it can sometimes manifest in emotion outburst of sadness or anger. Love, like any emotion, is like water in a geyser, even after it is stifled, the correct combination of pressure and time will cause it to burst through.

Take the late Senator Ted Kennedy for example. The Lion of the Senate was well known for his constituent services, he was perhaps even better known for his paroxysms about the issues he was most passionate about, such as health care for all Massachusetts residents. In the Democratic primary for Kennedy’s Senate seat, the Globe declared one of the candidates as “too full of populist anger,” but perhaps the candidate would say he was simply passionate about the struggles of the working class. And even though Congressman Joe Wilson called President Obama a Liar, people must realize that although his outburst was disliked by some, it cannot be argued that Representative Wilson did not feel strongly about the issue at hand.

Love makes humans passionate about an issue, and passion is a powerful emotion that galvanizes a people to action. Love can also be found in those that stand up against wrongful authority. This is a love for themselves, a respect for themselves under those that would abuse their authority. And yes this passion, there is love in this too. I would argue that shows of emotion, getting upset and angry, that is vital to being a good politician, a good leader, a good citizen, a good human.

Let us remember that to live as Dr. King did, we do not have to create a movement, there are human rights movements that already exist. We do not even have to go to jail on behalf of our beliefs, although there are those that are still imprisoned or exiled even today. We do not even have to bleed for our cause, although there has been much blood spent already. To live King’s legacy, we simply have to educate and inform those that make ignorant statements, we simply have to ask ourselves if luxury at the expense of other lives is worth enjoying. All we are asked to do, is to not turn a blind eye, to not ignore the wrongs that we has humans inevitably will commit, and in spite of these wrongs, we are asked not to forget that there is a common love, a common bond of humanity that connects us all.

There are those that will preach hate under the guise of love. These cons delude their followers under the guise of religion which can be defined as a love for God and the beings He has created. But love is preached in every religion as a force used to unify a people. Thus, any interpretation of religion that calls for the denigration, and destruction of other beings is a farce- a mockery of love.

So let us love one another. Let us love one another, but it does not have to be the type of romantic love, familial love, or materialistic affection we have spoken about. Let us respect one another. Let us not deny each other the basic human right to equal opportunities. We must arm ourselves with compassion and respect for human dignity before we stand on that battlefield. Although we continue to be a nation at war overseas, there are unfortunately many wars we must continue to fight in; the war against poverty, the war against drugs, the war against inadequate health care, the war against pollution and unnecessary waste, the war against ignorance.

And let us not forget, that when the stomach that is fed, the body that is clothed and sheltered from the forces of nature, the mind is less likely to be warped by those that preach hate; hatred on the basis of skin color, sex, gender, or religion. When a soul is warmed with compassion from others, it is all the more difficult for bitterness and malice to take root in it.

Peace.