The editorial page of some newspapers carried a big headline declaring the level of hate in the US is disturbing.

And it keeps on growing.

At first I didn’t read it for one reason. I get tired of being told the horrors of what’s wrong with this country and tired of hearing about awful things are to fall on us.

When there is nothing I can do about a problem, it only makes me feel worse when I realize how much is out of my control.

After the article on hate generated so much reader response I realized there is something we all can do to counter hatred.

While we might be powerless to wipe out hate on the national scene we can do plenty to eradicate it from our own lives.

We can work to eliminate hatred from our home, our community and our hearts.

I don’t think some of us realize how we, too, contribute to the hatred in this country.

I have two kayaking friends who are quite bright and helpful to others.

But here’s what I don’t get. They have two signs outside their lovely home. One says “Hatred doesn’t have a home here.”

I can’t tell you what the other one says because it’s a vulgar sign about a certain politician I will not name.

Seems to me one sign contradicts the other.

Maybe it’s all about levels of disliking what someone stands for. I understand that. What I don’t understand is a nasty vulgarity hung outside a beautiful home, next to the sign about no hatred.

I don’t have to tell you this country is more polarized than it ever was.

Oh how I long for positive leaders who can gather supporters without the nastiness that has taken over.

I refuse to talk politics but I will never tire of talking about the need for civility.

You remember civility, don’t you?

It’s what we used to have when we tolerated other viewpoints without whipping us into a frenzy of hatred.

For the longest time I refused to vote for anyone that had a negative campaign.

I can no longer do that because everyone running for office seems to be tearing down opponents.

While it’s a truism that we can’t control anyone but ourselves, there is still a lot we can do to counter hatred.

We can at least keep hate out of our own heart.

I have a friend who went through years of hell with an ex-husband’s nastiness. Whenever we saw her she had new stories to tell us about her ex-husband’s hatred.

When their daughter graduated from high school my friend had a big party. Not only did she invite her ex-husband but she also told him to bring his present girlfriend.

Of course he was suspicious of her motives. Without putting him down she told him she was tired of the hatred between them and wanted to do her part to make amends. “When I admitted my part in our toxic relationship it seemed to soften him,” she said.

Their daughter is happy to have her parents get along well enough to at least tolerate each other at family events.

The daughter said her graduation party where she didn’t have warring parents was the only one she ever had that didn’t make her sick in the stomach.

Her parents were so consumed with their own anger that they didn’t stop to realize what their hatred was doing to their daughter.

Halfway through writing this column I was tempted to delete it and write about something else.

Hate is ugly in all of its forms and I can’t even stand to write about it.

But as our country swings toward rampant hatred I feel compelled to talk about what we can do to counter hatred.

Maybe something as simple as not contributing to it in any form would be a start.

In our church, part of each service includes turning to those around us and saying, “Peace be with you.”

Some shorten it and just say, “Peace.”

It’s a beautiful thought to extend a wish for peace.

For many years when someone was antagonistic toward me I wanted to retaliate by “giving them a piece of my mind.”

I once heard a speaker say if we keep giving away pieces of our mind we won’t have much of a mind left.

I think it was the wisdom of age that made me take a long look at myself, weeding out unproductive thoughts and actions.

With age, I also learned something new: Holding my tongue.

Every now and then it pays off in surprising ways.

A woman who has long been a thorn in my side and who made it hard for me to keep holding my tongue when it came to her actions totally surprised me.

She said she has long admired my positive approach to life and wishes she could be more like that.

Here’s a question for you.

When you haul off and put someone down how does it make you feel? Does it just increase your anger?

On the other hand, when you go out of your way to help someone or do something nice for them how does that make you feel?

Let’s spread kindness.

This week in particular as we celebrate Easter may we all be instruments of peace.

Contact Pattie Mihalik at newsgirl@comcast.net