Rare is the war that is not fueled by hate. War is most often waged to control other people's labor, natural resources and territories. But invariably, hate is the kindling. The Bush administration's new policy of permanent and pre-emptive war will require us to perpetually hate new enemies worldwide. The result, we fear, will not be simply more war, but a fundamental shift in human values and morality.

For this nation to claim the unilateral right to pre-emptively strike (with nuclear weapons) at its enemies, and to determine which leaders and nations are evil, points to aspirations of empire-building. Still, that's not what portends disaster for humanity. Our government seems to think that only we are capable of pre-emptive wars and covert assassinations, and that there are no consequences for such actions.

This new policy threatens to encourage belligerent parties everywhere to adopt a similar ethos that will spill over into all facets of life, including children's playgrounds. "Treat others the way you would like to be treated" will be replaced with "Get them before they get you."

Worse yet, we're being conditioned to feel good about this righteous hate. We've been taught to feel morally superior to our foes, so that we may kill without guilt. This is accomplished by dehumanizing our enemies and believing that we're waging a noble and divinely supported cause. (This is not the same as rightfully bringing perpetrators to justice.) This way, when civilians are killed, we keep in mind that they're not the actual targets and remind ourselves of our greater cause -- stomping out evil. .

Most wars are supported by the same mentality: We are good, they are evil. And we are but an instrument of God, Allah or the Supreme Being.

This war is different, we're told -- yet we're still being conditioned to hate. But just who is the enemy? Arabs, Muslims, Middle Easterners, South Asians? For several decades, a Third World War -- a bloody, protracted struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union -- was waged, leaving in its wake millions of casualties throughout the Third World. Now the planet's remaining superpower is set to wage another world war that threatens not only to battle terrorism, but to put down legitimate insurgencies.

That's not to say terrorism isn't a real threat. It is. However, we could eliminate every terrorist alive today and still not come close to eliminating the breeding grounds of misery and hatred that spawn them. This administration seems unable to differentiate between terrorism and insurrection.

The military implications of this new ethos are obvious. However, the fundamental shift we are talking about threatens thousands of years of our evolving civilization. Like falling dominoes, every facet of life is affected, and we become a less safe and a more indifferent and dehumanized society. For example, more than 1,300 migrants have perished in the Southwestern desert since 1998 (a few dozen in the past week alone in Arizona). Their deaths, from heatstroke and dehydration, were preventable, but instead they're viewed as casualties to homeland security priorities. Too bad, right?

We're on the verge of becoming societies governed not by morality and just laws, but instead gripped by fear and obsessed with self-preservation.

Both criminals and average citizens may reason, "If I may get shot, why not shoot first?" That slippery slide to chaos and anarchy is held back by a very thin line, and hstorically, eventually replaced by a governmental iron fist.

The antithesis is learning to love all of humanity and upholding all life as sacred. Perhaps we should begin to love not only our neighbors, but also our enemies (as Jesus commands and as a reader reminds us). Perhaps we can take the time to create new friendships, particularly with those outside our borders who are subjected to poverty and exploitation. Perhaps we can resolve to help eliminate it.

The world's largest (G-8) nations should quit trying to give fish to the world's poor, or even trying to teach them how to fish. They already know how to fish. Instead, they should stop stealing and polluting the world's waters. This way we can all love each other righteously so that we won't later have to hate each other as enemies.

It's so much easier to hate.

"Column of the Americas" is posted every Friday and archived under "Opinion" at www.uexpress.com Gonzales & Rodriguez can be reached at PO BOX 100726, San Antonio, TX 78201-8726, or at 210-734-3050 or XColumn@aol.com For speaking availability, publications and other info, visit us at: http://hometown.aol.com/xcolumn/myhomepage/index.html

Copyright 2002 Universal Press Syndicate

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