With a world so full of hate, it makes you stop and ask yourself numerous questions; the main one being, where is the love? Not only is it an important question, but the title to an incredible and extremely relevant song by the Black Eyed Peas from 2003 (which also used to be my jam).
For those of you who don't remember the song or never heard it, it's about how hate has taken over the world. Take a minute to listen to or read the lyrics, you'll be amazed at how accurate they are.
In the first verse, it speaks about how not only is there terrorism overseas to be worried about, but terrorism on our own soil and within our own people. Following that, racism makes an appearance in the song and truth gets told.
But if you only have love for your own race, then you only leave space to discriminate. And to discriminate only generates hate. And when you hate then you're bound to get irate, yeah.
Racism obviously leads to discrimination, which is feed through hate; and hate is fueled by intense anger. The actions that have taken place recently have shown a great deal of hate and overwhelming anger. For a second, someone let their vast amount of hate take over them and destroy the lives of others.
Verse two speaks of war, respect and money. For relevance, I'm only going to extract the piece about respect.
Not respectin' each other, deny thy brother. The truth is kept secret, it's swept under the rug. If you never know truth, then you never know love.
I take this as it is. We are all God's children; we're all brothers and sisters, no matter who we are on the outside. Not respecting someone based on who they are on the outside or by the color of their skin, you're breaking God's law to "love thy neighbor." Once you accept the truth that we are all one body and one family, under God, then you know love, but as the song says, "If you never know truth, then you never know love."
The final verse, where most of the truth is spoken, is where media comes into play and values are brought up.
Wrong information always shown by the media. Negative images is the main criteria. Infecting the young minds faster than bacteria. Kids wanna act like what they see in the cinema.
Yo', whatever happened to the values of humanity? Whatever happened to the fairness and equality? Instead of spreading love we're spreading animosity. Lack of understanding, leading us away from unity.
Although most get confused, the media takes everything and twists it into the stories they want the broadcast; the more violent and negative, the better. Not only does the corrupt media infect the young, but it affects the old as well. The media fuels the hate and the anger, causing more disruption than before. As stated in the song, the lack of understanding what is truly happening, brings everyone farther away from unity. The values that this nation was founded on are completely lost and forgotten; fairness and equality is now a distant thought.
Now to bring light to, in my opinion, the best part of this song, the chorus.
People killin', people dyin'. Children hurt and you hear them cryin'. Can you practice what you preach? Or would you turn the other cheek?
Those two questions, "Can you practice what you preach? Or would you turn the other cheek?", really make you think. People are so quick to state their opinions on how hateful and corrupt the world is, but turn their cheek when it's their time to step up and fight for what they believe in.
The next lines in the chorus are my favorite in the song.
Father, Father, Father help us. Send some guidance from above. 'Cause people got me, got me questionin', "Where is the love?" (Love.)
It's a cry for help. A true feeling of not knowing what to do and handing it over to the one who does, God. The only one that can help bring love back into this world is the Lord. His guidance can and will bring back everything the nation believed in and can certainly bring the love and peace back into this hate-filled world.
A time like this is a perfect time to reflect on this old song. Where did the love go? Will you be practicing what you preach or will you look in the other direction?
