This is one time it’s hard to find the right words.

My hometown has been rocked with death and violence and it sickens me. For some reason all the things I want to say are somewhere hung-up in my head, clogging that proverbial spout from which they are supposed to flow.

The tragedies during the past few weeks in Baton Rouge leave me with a series of emotions circulating around my ancient brain and searching for a way to express myself.

The death of Alton Sterling and the later deaths of three law enforcement officers at the hands of one man in the city where I lived for almost 40 years have left me shaken — it’s hard for me to reconcile why they occurred. And it’s compounded because I have ties to the law enforcement community in Baton Rouge and the parish.

I have a brother-in-law who is an East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff’s deputy. I have known the sheriff since he was the police chief of a small community of about 12,000 people called Baker, La., north of Baton Rouge. Some of the people I went to high school with are, or were, police officers or deputies.

And over the years, in areas where I’ve worked, I’ve managed to have a good relationship with police officers and deputies.

But I’m not going to offer opinions on the deaths of Mr. Sterling or the officers. They are just the latest victims of a more serious disease occurring across our country. What really bothers me is the increasing hate and violence covering our country like a plague.

We have a presidential candidate who spews hatred whenever he opens his mouth, and it spreads through his supporters and opponents, sometimes resulting in violence. People express dislike for a culture or religion without, in most cases, knowing anything about the target of their venom.

We are bombarded daily with video on television or in social media of people getting beat up, riots and innuendo about some person or group. And people are more inclined to resolve differences with a weapon.

It needs to stop. I read an article recently about the “dumbing down of America”; how people no longer read books or other printed matter and rely more on the Internet and social media for their information without checking the sources. I believe, to a large extent, that’s true, and part of our problem. Hatred is born of ignorance. We are not born to hate; it’s taught.

As a society, we need to become more educated and be willing to look at the other guy’s side before hauling off and making accusations. We need to verify what we read on social media, and we need to learn to address problems calmly. We need to learn to love and respect our neighbor.

And maybe, if we do as the scripture says, to “love your neighbor as you love yourself,” we can change.