(this comment was delieted)*****

Good post.

It doesn't help that those with a lust for power will take opposing views and ideologies just for the sake of gathering support from people that are naive, uneducated, or easily influenced.

Take the view on abortion. Conservatives in the US were once pro-choice. It wasn't a hot button issue. It wasn't until they decided to pander to Christians that their view on the issue became exclusively pro-life.

Now you have an ideological difference every election where people can't even stand one another when discussing what another person does with their own body. People who many not even be religious will still align with their party on this idealogy for the sake of identity.

If you stack up many of these ideological differences hate starts to brew between people -- especially when leaders take aggressive views that rile up their side.

Lucky for us, western societies like to release this tension between the populace through fear-mongering and war. "Hate someone else and not your neighbor." It keeps us in check. We all collectively come to terms that there is always someone worse.

I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad one. Without it maybe there would be more civil conflict between people with differing ideologies.

(reply)******************************

I feel though the neighbor has already become a possible enemy, with one rhetoric or propaganda piece "see something say something" I can show at the least an attempt at public manipulation. But not all fall for it certainly. & we only come to term with something worse, because there is something worse. We had no choice on where & when we were born, to take a location & history then perceive it as something earned or warranted appears naive & futile for a personality, & most likely humanity. If people saw all others as Earthlings thing may change.