So what could we do?

How can we get on better with our neighbours?
~With people in other countries?
~With people from different religions & cultures?

What would diminish the pot of hatred?

John Lennon's song Imagine pretty much hits the mark -
Imagine no religion...
Imagine all the people living life in peace ...

But of course I'm a dreamer too.

Honestly I don't see any solutions with the presence of religion - which is the source of 99% of hatred in my opinion.

Other things - racial mostly - can be overcome - the US is a good example, I think there is progress made (albeit slowly) all the time in the racisim dept. I've been to Brazil and marveled at the ethnic diversity of the country - and they all seem to be a unified happy-go-lucky group for the most part.

But religion - there is no hope - sad to say. It will do us all in - I hope somebody ends up in heaven over the carnage - but I doubt it.

What else is there hatred about really? I suppose there is politics - but in the US - most of the politics has gotten ugly because the religious right tries to shove their view points down the rest of us. Once again - it all boils down to religion.
Maybe Satan conjured up religion - that would make sense to me - God is probably shedding many tears over what we have become.

Hi--i think people brought all the rules and regulations which changed the original function of religion (a method of learning about the unknown) into a social club of righteousness. Being immersed in religion can make it extra hard to keep an open mind. But not all religious folks are like that. It's hard to find middle ground between the overly-credulous and total skepticism.
How would we get along better with our neighbors on a world basis? i dunno. i do "believe" it's my job to get along with those in my immediate life. That's where i "am", that's the place of active belief. That's the place of forgiveness, even when the recipient is unaware. This is where i bring up my kids, or serve as an unaware example for the future generation. What i say will matter little, kids learn their wants and desires from mine and what they see me "worship".
This world situation took generations to develop, it will take generations for us to work out. God tells me to start now to lead the life i "believe" i would like to see the future of the earth have, not just through scripture but by reassuring my efforts, forgiving my mishaps (he's not very meticulous,LOL) and a bit of additional strength and patience. If you are into helping and loving your neighbor God(what i call God) would help you unasked and unannouced--hence the many athiests and nonbelievers doing great things more good and kindness than i could ever accomplish. For now i only have my immediate world and my "spirituality" or ever you want to call it tells me to do work here starting with me,LOL!--nicolo

As others have said, though, isn't 'religion' just an excuse that would be replaced by another 'reason' to hate, if it didn't exist?

Unpretensiousness, humility

Seems I might not blend too well in that pot!!

I definitely think so. Religious/sectarian differences are just another manifestation of tribalism. Humans are essentially primitive. Our instincts are social: we all need an "in group" to identify with, and we can't really identify with an in-group unless there is an out-group to contrast with. We all want to divide other human beings into the categories "One of my gang" and "not one of my gang". Our planet is like a giant high-school.

I used to believe that increased globalization/migration/travel would lessen this, as we would have more contact with "the other" but in fact the opposite seems to be happening. People feel uncomfortable with globalisation because it weakens core-group identity, so tribalism is actually on the rise and people are seeking to rekindle long-forgotten hatreds and rivalries.

Honestly, the only hope to avoid this (and I'm not really too convinced it would work) is if everybody just started breeding with people of different races/ethnicities/religions and create a vast race of mutts, half-castes, quarter-castes and so on. It's harder to hate your own relatives (well, not that much harder, really).

That's sort of what Brazil is like (and much of the Caribbean). But then again Brazil has some pretty intense class/economic differences (and race plays into them in a big way: see how many black people are in high government or business positions in Brazil). There is a lot of crime and gang violence there: it's actually quite a violent society.

Hi--i think Spooky's honesty exposed some of the roots why religious and other rivalries spring up. Pride and presumption has been educated into us as part of core group identity making it difficult to even think outside the box.--nicolo

I especially like this thought, Victor:

"Maybe Satan conjured up religion - that would make sense to me - God is probably shedding many tears over what we have become."


I suspect that this is correct. Satan, the tower of babel, hunter vs farmer (brother slaying brother), and many other examples - division and hostility seem built in.

But maybe, as Jimmy Buffet concluded, "It my own [expletive] fault!"

We need a common goal for humankind to unite behind. Peace and prosperity and health and happiness don't seem to be sufficient goals to unite people (or they just want them for their own little niche).

Do we need a diaster that everyone recognizes in order to work together?

I really think that you could be right there ~ it explains the way people support football teams, etc, and even the violence that can folow a match. I remember a teacher talking to us about this at school.



Now that is an interesting though.
I actually think that people need a place to call 'home', where they can feel a sense of belonging.
With all the migration going on, some people's 'homes' now feel alien to them, because of cultural changes, and that makes them feel lost and insecure. They want to keep their home safely for them and not allow the 'invaders' to take it over and change it. This would explain a lot of 'racial' intolerance.



'What we need is a great big melting pot, big enough to take the world and all its got' ~ resulting in all those scores of 'coffee-coloured people'. (Blue Mink, I think???)



I had heard about how integrated Brazil was ~ but obviously, it has its own problems.

Are there many religious differences there?

Hi--Good thoughts from all of you, pretty much aligned with my understanding. i think tribalism might stem from a need to be correct and have assurance from other group members. Then suddenly "correct" understanding is a requirement and it snowballs out of control from there. Government and politics and even science are prey to the same process. There's no easy way out but the problems are in us individually--a need of a certain confidence in our actions as individuals without the assurance of a group, especially mass media. We are still evolving as a human species so we owe it to the rest of humanity to put aside self at times and evolve in a manner to better it. Now is this thought final, or a "truth"? Of course not, none of my thoughts are anything but thoughts, but i find some additional comfort and purpose the more my thinking unfolds, and i attribute it to God.--nicolo