Dr Frederik G. PferdtFrom Stanford & Google — To You

The only thing more powerful than hate is love / NEXTletter

17 Feb 2026 · 1 min

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Dr. Frederik G. Pferdt reflects on the Super Bowl message "The only thing more powerful than hate is love," drawing on his mother's anti-racism protest in Germany and his son's activism in Santa Cruz. He argues that physically showing up and moving, rather than passive scrolling, changes your chemistry and turns you into an author of change.

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At the Super Bowl halftime show, this huge message flashed across the stage: "The only thing more powerful than hate is love." And for a second, the energy shifted. Joy didn't feel soft. It felt powerful. And I thought about something else. My mother recently stood in a square in Germany at a demonstration against racism. And my son walked in a protest in Santa Cruz. Two different places, same move. They showed up. They moved their feet. And that's the difference. Scrolling feels like participation. Showing up changes you. When you move, your chemistry changes. Even small acts like helping someone, fixing something, reaching out, they shift you. And you feel less like a spectator, more like an author.