hrm...*rewriting*
See, there is merit to a lot of what's being said...
You have to make sure you can take care of yourself before others...
But I was also raised Lutheran and was taught to love everyone (ironically, my 5th grade teacher was closed-minded, believed stereotypes, and believes in exclusivity of religion (each sect should ONLY be allowed to celebrate among themselves)...better than one of my first friends, who told me I was going to hell when I was 8 because I wasn't Baptist)...
Anyway, while I have to say that love is important, I have to redefine life first...Because there is something I don't agree with about the definition...Loving yourself is still love...Loving others more than yourself, and putting others ahead of yourself is self-sacrificial love...selfless love...
Life, in essence, to me, is survival...And from my past experiences, you can only love others if you are able to establish your well-being...But your own survival is key to your ability to love...
Thus I choose both...To love, but to only give of myself when able...Because if giving of yourself costs you everything, you have nothing left to ensure your survival...
And to the comment about no love without hate, and the contrapositive, I agree on a large scale, but I think people can hate without loving...and love without hating...Hard to imagine, but I truly believe it is possible
Yeah...I have to choose both...because it is necessary for life...Selfless love is hard, but I will help my friends in any way I can...Even if I do seem distant and cold sometimes...that's merely because I have to have a bit of time to find out how much I can trust a person...
-edit-
Well said, Sam...That's a perfect explanation of why love and hate do not necessarily need one for the other to exist
Edited by viper92583, 08 December 2005 - 01:45 AM.