Humans are becoming their own worst enemies because of ideological differences. We have gone beyond the basic need for food, shelter, and mates into an ideological dimension that acquires a greater importance than reality. Our imagined worlds are so credible and so appealing that any amount of suffering in this world can be considered unimportant.
There have always been selfless acts of heroism in times of need. The people who sacrificed their lives sealing the Chernobyl reactor to keep it from spewing radioactivity come to mind. They died so that others might live.
The images coming out of the Middle East are less comprehensible: Suicide bombers whose only purpose is to kill as many other people as possible without a rational goal in mind. Hate is being taught on a large scale. Young people who have not seen the world chant and believe that "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" are worthwhile goals. Memories of the injustices of prior wars, the Halocaust, the crusades, and the oppression by the Roman Empire become tools to keep young, innocent people engaged in struggles that will never end because they are never allowed to forget and, therefore, they can never forgive.
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