Once upon a time we lived in small tribes. Others, not of our tribe, were genuinely alien to us, and we would fight with them over land and resources. Why are we still doing the same thing?

We may not, mostly, be fighting wars, but we still tend towards an ‘us and them’ mentality and the war of words is fought constantly: against foreigners; against those who support a different political party; against those who do or say something we don’t agree with.

Yet we now live in a world where we can know about most aspects of the rest of the inhabitants of this world. We know more about different cultures: most of us are from some form of mixed heritage in our past, and we take it for granted that we eat ‘foreign’ food or use ‘foreign’ phrases,

We are also aware that what happens anywhere else in the world can have an impact on our little patch, because it is all interconnected: climate change is a prime example, as is commerce.

We may not agree with other people’s values or opinions, but we certainly won’t change their views or attitudes by being hateful towards them.

Isn’t it time we looked for what we have in common with others, rather than why they’re not ‘one of us’?

We all need food and shelter, a way to earn our living and a chance to have some dignity, to feel valued. We all face the same doubts and have similar hopes.

And no, I don’t claim to love everyone, and I don’t agree with what some others do or say but condemning them or hating them doesn’t make any positive difference.

We are all human beings, doing our best to make it in this world. We live in a global community. Let’s find ways to work together instead of separating into warring tribes – it’s time we grew up in our human beingness.