Keeping in touch with old friends and colleagues via Facebook used to be fun.  After catching up I would also read articles, opinions, and, on occasion, politically-related issue pieces.  Lately, I’ve literally felt ill after reading some of the most hateful, cruel comments that are being made – often unrelated to the original topic.  It is as though FB has become a network for angry, destructive, and thoughtless people with nothing better to do than to spew hatred and incite violence.  It has become a platform for a disgusting display of ignorance being perpetuated, and the truth being stomped on as trivial.  It is so sad that we can’t seem to disagree with each other without being vicious. As this hate speech increases, so does the incidence of violence against others.  Fear is insidious, and it seems to be spreading like a cancer.  It is infecting all areas of our lives.  I believe it is up to the majority of us that are not yet caught up in this to respond to the hate with love, to the cruelty with kindness, to the violence with peace.  Fear begets more fear…hate begets more hate…violence incites more violence.  Lets put a stop to these horrible, contagious “diseases” of the heart and soul.