would you rather be feared or loved?

so it's been a while since i've written a blog.  i always think of things to write about and then i just don't write them, so if this blog seems BS, it's because i'm just writing to write.  

i don't know when i came up with an answer to this thought: would you rather be feared or loved?  This is an old question.  It's been around for ages.  Since the beginning of time.  Since the beginning of power.  

If you know me well enough at all, you'd know that I'd rather be loved.  Simply because love is powerful.  Everyone has loved someone: a parent, a sibling, a cousin, a friend, a lover, or even a pet.  We know how happy it makes us.  If you have truly loved that person, you know how it feels to see him or her happy or sad.  That you feel their happiness and pain.  And when they are in pain, you'd walk to the end of the world to make it go away.  

It is easy to help someone you love.  You want to do things for them.  You want to make their lives better.  You respect and accept every part of that person.  Love is THAT powerful.

I would not want to be feared because that would just be uncomfortable for a lot of people.  According to dictionary.com, fear is defined as a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.  If you ask me, only a coward would want to be feared.

Everyone has feared something or someone. You can't be yourself when in fear.  You're always watching your back, making sure you do or say the right thing.  I wouldn't want another person to feel that way around me.  Granted, fear also brings respect, but not all the time.  Not everyone is fearful, someone will defy you one day ...

So, why can't we conquer the world with love?

Currently appreciating: Heartbreak Warfare by John Mayer