In the great outdoors, animals live harmoniously together. Of course, sometimes one eats the other for dinner, but an animal never kills more than is necessary for a hearty meal; unless lions are hungry, gazelles are in no danger. And although one animal may single out another as prey, one species never shuns a whole other species.

Contrast that to human behavior, where we decide that an entire race or nation or religious group is the enemy. I still remember visiting "behind the Iron Curtain" when I was a student, and the horrified reaction of someone who had picked me up hitchhiking and learned I was American. She couldn't get me out of her car fast enough; it was as if I had the plague. But this is no different from what Americans were raised to believe about their Eastern European counterparts. They were Communists! Nothing else mattered besides the politics of their government. Having just survived eight years of a government that consistently misrepresented me, I have a new respect for people who are tarred by the same brush as their country's leaders.

Since 9/11, Muslims haven't gotten a fair shake by the American government or, arguably, the media. There has been a widespread perception that every Muslim is an "evildoer."

In fact, there are plenty of people in Muslim countries who have antipathy toward all Americans as well. And in non-Muslim South America, the Brazilian president recently blamed the world's economic crisis on "white people with blue eyes [1]." (It's true that many people in the mortgage and banking industries are fair-haired and light, but so am I, and if you saw my car you'd know for sure I'm not a banker.)

But things are changing. Our president visited Turkey, which is becoming ever more Muslim, and shared ideas. Rather than have a standoff with the whole country over our differences, President Obama reached across yet another divide, while still communicating some of our critical constitutional ideals, like the vital importance of separating church and state.

Relationships between countries are just like relationships between individuals: In order to understand each other, it's crucial to have good communication. How peace gets maintained in the animal kingdom is largely an enigma to us. We humans, as we always tell our kids, must use our words.


Photo of Turkish women by Tinou Bao.