Sunday, March 23, 2008

The Source of Conflict and Hatred

I wanted to share a revelation that I've had in the past few years that I think applies to conflicts and harmful behavior of all types. And that revelation is this:

Atticus Finch was wrong when he said that you can't understand a man until you've walked a mile in his shoes, and thus implied that the cause of conflict and hatred is a lack of understanding of other people.

What I have learned is that conflict and hatred isn't caused by failing to understand others, but is instead caused by people thinking that they do understand others.

Put more clearly: The problem isn't that people don't understand each other, it's that they think they do.

I will be happy to elaborate on this more fully should anyone ask.