Cultural warfare

A hypothetical scenario: you’re crossing the street in your neighbourhood when a muscle-bound young man in a sport utility vehicle shoots across your path, missing you by inches. You spend the next few minutes boiling with fury, ranting internally at his selfishness, and wishing various flesh-eating diseases upon him. (For me, I confess, this isn’t very hypothetical: you’ll often find me cursing the reckless drivers of New York City in exactly this fashion.) But what if you learned that the man’s wife, hidden from view in the back seat, had been in labour with their first child? Your attitude would surely change. You might or might not conclude that his speeding had been justified, but either way, you couldn’t sustain your rage. It’s almost impossible to hate someone