EVERYONE is the SAME

Regardless of our values, beliefs and principles, we all share something in common: FEAR.

Not millions of different fears: one single fear.

Whoever we are, whatever we think, feel or believe; every last one of us wants to live our own lives, and we all fear that someone's going to stop us.

The religious fear the non-believer will corrupt God’s work, whilst the atheist fears the devout will hinder progress.

Those who vote for left wing politicians fear those who vote right wing may take away their rights.

And vice versa.

The conspiracy denier fears the conspiracy theorist and the conspiracy theorist fears the conspiracy denier. Each afraid the other is a threat to the rest of us for not seeing the truth of the matter.

Everyone fears the dictator who seeks to abolish freedom. Just as powerful rulers fear a mass uprising.

We're all afraid that someone else's actions are going to prevent us living the way we want.

But these arguments aren't really fought between ‘left’ and ‘right’, or good against evil—but the afraid versus the afraid.

Our natural urge for self preservation leads us to overcompensate, and we express our fear as anger.

Our knee-jerk reaction is to ‘‘do it to them, before they do it to us!’’.

As we argue with loved ones, we embrace authoritarianism in service to our personal, favourite brand of bullshit.

We can't expect to achieve personal freedom if we're not prepared to secure it for everyone else. And we're absolutely doomed if we hate people for being afraid, whilst being equally afraid for ourselves.

If we can stop insisting how things should be.

And just agree something we all know shouldn't be.

Then regardless of our differences humanity wins.