The Opposite of Hate: A Field Guide to Repairing Our Humanity

If, like me, you find yourself angered by news, by social media, and by a lack of civil discourse in this country over the last few years, Sally Kohn’s the Opposite of Hate is a must read.

As a former liberal commentator on Fox News, Kohn is a veteran of highly charged rhetoric on both sides of the political aisle. But hate, she asserts, isn’t the same thing as angry words exchanged by pundits on cable television. Hate is an epidemic. It’s the pervasive response by many Americans to views that challenge their own. It’s the fear-driven reaction to changes we can’t control. And, of course, it’s so much easier than trying to really listen to those with whom we disagree.

From an incident in grade school when she mistreated a classmate affected by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the horrific racism at the heart of the disproportionate policing of African-Americans, Kohn tackles hate in all its various forms. She writes of religious leaders, soldiers, teenagers–in short, she addresses how hate permeates the lives of all people. But the genius of Kohn’s book isn’t the exhaustive way she covers the subject, it’s in the masterful suggestion that communication and empathy are the only ways to combat the hate we encounter every day.

If she can do this with the internet trolls whose life’s mission seems to be to tear her down—one of the most riveting parts in the book—then the rest of us should at least try with our neighbors. The Opposite of Hate may not change the world, but it could help us to change ourselves, and that is a good start.