On nationalities and religions, I'd like to live by Thomas Paine's famous quote (which, incidentally, was set to music by Dan Barker), "The World is my country,

On nationalities and religions, I'd like to live by Thomas Paine's famous quote (which, incidentally, was set to music by Dan Barker), "The World is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion." Of course, to take that seriously, I'd have to care about bad things that happen to others far away that benefit me, that it would be easier to just ignore because they're happening to other people somewhere far away. So believing in an in-group and an out-group may allow us to remain blissfully ignorant of uncomfortable realities. But I suppose that's not the best way to live.