“Loving of enemies is another dogma of feigned morality, and has besides no meaning. It is incumbent on man, as a moralist, that he does not revenge an injury; and it is equally as good in a political sense, for there is no end to retaliation, each retaliates on the other, and calls it justice; but to love in proportion to the injury, if it could be done, would be to offer a premium for crime.”
-Thomas Paine
Should the consequence of committing injury upon another be to retaliate in kind? We see all around us the results of that: Non-ending hatreds and escalating violence.
If acts have consequences, if we reap what we sow, can it truly be possible to love an enemy as you would your own? But if by love we mean forgiveness, then let it be so.
For to forgive relieves us of the burden of hatred that gnaws away at our own soul and does little harm to an enemy other than to justify the non-sensible continuation of aggression.
Forgiveness is an expression of a loving heart and is a gift to the world and to ourselves.