Strangers

Sometimes I get really confused as to how there can be so much conflict, between people.  Especially people of different races or cultures.  Like two different nations, that have two different predominant religions.  I get how things can be wrong politically, I know that war makes money and I know that certain countries sometimes have access to certain natural resources, and that a lot of natural resources are highly coveted. And, I know that land equals power.  

But people, personally, are way more complex.  First, you have the ones that are easily influenced, that hardly do any kind of research on their own, and pretty much believe anything that anyone tells them.  So, take those people, and then realize that each one of them has an opinion.  And they take these opinions everywhere with them, no matter how small their radius is, and they spread it, even if it is like poison, or even if it is ignorant as hell.  

And then, to add to this, most people tend to hang around people just.like.them. And I guess that's ok, and I guess it's human nature, at least for some, but most people don't do any research to at least become familiar with the major things of the world. They don't know why Muslims don't eat pork, or the what the Nation of Islam is all about.  They don't know the basic fundamentals about the Vatican, or even how any of the wars got started, or what countries are allies, and which are enemies.  

So take that kind of person, who knows almost nothing, is prone to believing anything, and thinks that they know everything. Those are your neighbors.  Even though most have the resources to figure a lot of things out, most don't even think about the things they have access to working in ways other than superficially.  

So what's my point?  My point is that if people knew the basics about the world, or even just considered the world as the place that they lived, that things may be at least a few degrees easier.