What can we do?

That we are all brothers and sisters may be hard for some people to believe. For example, there is more variation within a racial or ethnic group than there is between them. Only in superficial features such as skin or eye color are there any discernible differences. Important features such as agility, intelligence, capacity for love, temperament, morality, artistic sense, and health all show wide variations within all colors of skin.

Each group of people is awe-struck by the unknown, just as the ancients were. And each group comes naturally to question what it all means. Humankind is insecure about the unknown and what lies ahead. There is no ethereal thinking that guides us all; we are left to our own devices. We are in awe of the range of societies that flourished in recorded history, the range of religions, values, governance, and interpretations of nature.

The range of terroristic actions in the name of religion or secular cause is a challenge in itself. And we are amazed by the incongruence of terror and religion. Lack of unity on secular or religious issues seems enough to "justify" any degree of horror throughout history.

We are also struck by the way national leaders ignore storm warnings as they repeat the blunders of their predecessors in matters of economics, justice, love, and war.

Through all of this, we can find more in common among groups how ever they are defined than in difference. We share nature in common, and human nature itself seems to universally consist of character, personality and skill set. All societies are composed of people who value love even as they hate, respect accomplishment even as they fear it, and all exhibit athletic prowess to astonishing levels. All societies are creative and discover things of benefit to all. All societies create and enjoy music and the arts whether or not allowed to officially.

Ever see people, strangers to each other from widely different cultures and ethnicity, hit it off (become friends) instantly? We have. It happens more often than not, even over language barriers. Have you not seen similar events across religions and philosophies? These things are universal, and we hold them in common. We are all of the same genome, differing only in tiny details, not in kind.

Yet through it all human kind is only slowly learning to celebrate our minor differences instead of fighting over them. This too is a point of similarity; emotions too often rule over our decisions to our later regret. We are indeed all brothers and sisters.