I think it's interesting that people blame Islam. Koresh wasn't seen as a "Christian" but he thought he was Jesus. The Branch Davidians aren't seen as Christian Terrorist, although they were.
I can't say I genuinely agree with any of that.
There are differing views amongst "Christians" or "Catholics" just as there are differing views amongst various muslim, hindu, buddist and even athiest groups. Some "Christians", notably the Westboro Baptist Church, which protests at the funerals of fallen US soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan proclaims that "God Hates America" because of America's acceptance of homosexuality in society.
Westboro Baptist Church Home Page
That is, some Christian "churches" have very "radical" views just as some groups that profess to practise Islam have very radical views. When you have a book that's 2000 years old, and not all of it even makes sense (such as Psalms), it allows for a great deal of liberty in interpretation. No one can say that the Bible approves homosexuality, but no one can say that it isn't totally natural either. Diversity is the modus operandi of evolution. We can't accept the concept of evolution without also accepting the diversity of life it creates, including homosexuality.
So, the best that can be said is that we live in a very diverse world, diverse in every respect.
I think we fear what we don't know. What we do know we hate. Hermann Hesse has a good quote on this one. "If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself. What isn't part of ourselves doesn't disturb "
I think he was right.
Some of that I can partially accept. We do fear what we don't know. Y2K was a perfect example of that. We simply didn't know how big a problem it was going to be, and so we feared THE WORST. But, it's natural to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. That keeps us ready for any eventuality. Anything less wouldn't be "preparedness".
"What we do know we hate."
That just don't make no sense no how. People LIKE the music they listened to when they were kids. People become homesick and lonely for the people they know best; their relatives and close friends, when they are separated from them. People tend to buy the same brands of products simply because they are happy with them and know what to expect. If your statement is correct, then all of mine are wrong. Truth is, those people and things we know, we tend to prefer over those we don't. How often does grandma buy an Eminem CD? Prolly Grandma would prefer to watch Lawrence Welk on TV. Why? Cuz she knows of him and knows what to expect from him. Lawrence does't #$%@ing swear in any of his songs.
""If you hate a person, you hate something in him that is part of yourself."
How does that square with white/black prejudice or the hate seethed by skinheads against anyone who isn't white. How does it square with the hatred of the Jews by Hitler's Third Reich? I say if you hate a person or group of people, you hate something about THEM that abhors you. End. Full Stop. For example, here in Canada there's a lot of prejudice against natives because there's the widespread notion that most of them spend their lives bouncing around on the social safety nets. They rely on government to provide funding to the tribe, and that funding goes for housing, education, salaries, etc. But, that funding comes out of tax payer's pockets, and it's natural for people to resent having to pay higher taxes to provide someone else with free housing, an tax-free income, free prescription drugs, free university education and still have them complain about how badly they've been mistreated.
What isn't part of ourselves doesn't disturb"
So, if I see a UFO in the sky, or a "ghost" or a Bigfoot or anything else that's completely outside my life's experience on this good Earth, that doesn't disturb me?
I'm not sure on the specifics, but that camera got some air!
I thought it was a UFO hovering over the trees in the background that just happened to look remarkably similar to a movie camera.