Why are people so hateful? This isn’t a rhetorical question. I’m seriously asking. Why are people so filled with hate and anger?

In the United States of America, there are millions of people who hate millions of other people based on the color of their skin, or their religion, or their politics or their gender. We hate people because they like guns, because they eat meat, and here in San Diego we hate people because they like the Oakland Raiders.

How can we hate people we don’t even know?

So this is Christmas
And what have you done

The words to this John Lennon song, "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)," have kept repeating over and over in my head the past few weeks. I just keep thinking: “And just what have I done?”

I’m not a big fan of the holiday season. I’m not a cynic. I just find it all overwhelming. I find buying presents for people because I have to and not because I want to, irritating. Spending time with family can be quite joyful, but it can also be stressful and wrought with emotions – good and bad.

The middle-aged woman, her wrinkled face twisted in rage, screamed words at us that made no sense. Her disheveled appearance was shocking enough, but the conditions she was living in were even more appalling.

Down the dark and dank hallway, we stopped to gaze at a grizzled old man, missing most of his teeth, who stared intently at a spot on a wall. It was bare. He was looking at nothing in particular and he appeared completely unaware of his whereabouts or the fact that a busload of college-preparatory high school seniors were standing nearby.

Perhaps you hate President Obama

Because he won re-election
Because he’s a Democrat
Because he’s Black

Because he supports same-sex marriage
Because he organized to fight prejudice
Because he lived in Chicago

Because he initiated heathcare reform
Because he sometimes compromises
Because he sometimes doesn’t

Because he hesitates when he speaks
Because he’s weak on some issues
Because he’s strong on others