“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

I’ve referenced this quote by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. previously, but in light of recent events across the nation and the world, these words need to be spoken again.

Only love can drive out hate.

Hate is the evil that spurs a 31-year-old man to drive a truck more than a mile down a crowded pedestrian promenade, leaving a trail of more than 80 victims dead in the streets and hundreds more injured.

Anger is the emotion that drives a former soldier to open fire on police officers during a peaceful protest, killing five and injuring half a dozen others.

Hate is the force that drives an armed gunman to turn a crowded nightclub into a shooting gallery in the early morning, killing 49 people and wounding more than 50 others.

When we were children, our parents taught us how to get along with other children. When we would misstep, they would teach us to “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” or “Treat others the way you want to be treated.”

But that simple rule seems lost in the complexities of modern-day life. When intolerance, fear and anger drive people to violence, we cannot simply “treat others as we would be treated.”

Here in Southeast Texas, we have largely escaped the racial tensions and violence that have rocked our nation and the world over the past 18 months. But we are not immune to hate. While we cannot control others, we can control how we respond as individuals, and that response takes place at the simplest core of our being.

No, we can’t change the world all at one time. But we can change one person at a time, by showing respect to each and every person we come into contact with. I truly believe there is much more good in this world than bad, despite the images we see on television and mainstream media.

Vietnamese Buddhist and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh summed up the challenges we face today so very well. “People say walking on water is a miracle, but to me walking peacefully on Earth is the real miracle.”

Let us pray that we can find that miracle.

Rich Macke is publisher of The Port Arthur News. Contact him at rich.macke@panews.com.