I am discouraged by the rhetoric in response to Paris 11/13. Hate is not the answer. Bombs are not the answer. These only beget more people that hate us and the cycle of hate, fear and bombs continues. Humans evolved into what we are today due to our special ability to cooperate. So why the need to make some group into ‘the other’ and t fear this ‘other?’ To me this is like hitting one hand with the other. It just makes no sense.
A core issue here is immigration. And the low birth rates of developed economies. With a birth rate of 1.4 (2 is needed for ‘replacement’) Europe needs immigrants to keep their economies going. The US has continued to prosper with a falling birth rate because of immigration, because people around the world see the US as a place where they can make a better life for themselves and their fammilies. Japan has fallen in the world economy because of the low birth rate AND the lack of immigration. American should be saying to immigrants, “Thank you for coming. Welcome.” Instead we talk about hate and bombs.