The source of good and evil
What the Jersey City massacre teaches us about ourselves
Paradoxically, extremism begins with the noble human passion for attachment to something greater than ourselves. Unchecked, that passion mutates, perverting the principles of peace into the war drums of fanaticism.
Extremism is not a function of religion. Extremism emerges from the insecurity of adherents who don’t know why they believe what they believe and therefore despise all who believe differently. The mere existence of any opposing belief system threatens the validity of their own belief, driving them to respond with violence.