A lot of stories on the web today about atrocities in the Middle East, and we want to think these are exceptional acts of inhumanity. But they aren’t. It’s human nature. No matter nationality, religion or lack thereof, no matter the color of your skin, what we call acts of inhumanity are actually quite human. Humans are a savage species when not restrained sufficiently by either their society or superstitious beliefs. I wish I could be surprised by “man’s inhumanity toward man” but I’m not. Obviously whatever social or religious constraints we rely on are not working. What Christians call “evil” is simply the less attractive side of our humanity. We want to disown the ugly side but we can’t, it’s a part of our nature. Only evolution and a worldwide determination to denounce our past and find a way to live without greed, hate, and the violence they encourage. If the climate doesn’t kill us off first.