Sometimes it seems that notions of tribalism that dominate international politics today are a bit out of touch. The total genetic difference between myself and the male human most distantly related to me on the entire planet is something like .02%. We consider two objects 99.98% alike to be identical, so basically we are all clones of each other. Race is an illusion, and the aggregate genetic difference between closely related groups likes the Arabs and Jews, and the British and the Irish, is statisically swallowed up by the differences between individuals.

I feel a certain shame for my (distant) relatives in Northern Ireland who keep fighting because of an invasion that happened centuries ago. When I look at Palestine and Israel, I feel a disgust with both sides for their stupidity.