I have been reading a book recently - World Conflicts by Steven D. Strauss (2006).
There are 196 countries in the world. In the half past century, everyone of them has involved in conflicts and war. Hundred thousands of people died and homeless. Why does human kind has so much of conflicts? I wonder. This is always a big question waiting for answer.
According to Strauss, one reason there is war and conflicts is that people are identifying themselves more narrowly. For instance man live peace and harmony when they identified themselves as one nation, but when the state splintered into separate subnationalities, they are free to war upon each other because they are now "others".
Arabs and Jews hate each other; Islamist fundamentalists hate Westerns; Protestants blow up Catholics; Hutus murdered Tutsi...When a group identifies with some religion or race or nationality, it is far too easy to conclude that anyone not of that as an ENEMY...
So one way to create a more peaceful world is by changing that narrow sort of thinking, change the way they think about what they are. For example, I do not considered myself as "non-muslim", nor a "chinese", but i considered myself a "Malaysian". Hating each other will become difficult when we have a similar identity.
Peace still finds a way. It is a not easy though.
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