Waafa has always lived in Baghdad. Her attendance at my bible study, nearly every Saturday morning, brought fresh perspective. One day I asked "Why do Arabs hate Jews so much?"

She became animated, slid towards the edge of her chair and said, "I'll tell you why. You can ask any Arab, at any time and they'll tell you the same thing. We hate Jews because they say they're God's chosen. So what does that make the rest of us?"

I was stunned. That's it? We kill each other out of jealousy? There's never a moment of peace because one thinks they're more favored? Can it be that sophomoric? Are we locked on the playground? Is the fraternity of world leaders sacrificing our children in a game of one-upmanship?

We expend gargantuan energy making claims for the rightness of our perspective. I met Bill O'Reilly in Baghdad too. I told him, "If we can find a way for you and Al Franken to get along we'll be able to help the Sunni and the Shiites." He leaned back in his chair, pulled his chin up and said, "Chaplain, he'd have to be converted first." That's exactly what the Sunni and Shia say.

We need adult supervision, people who realize that you can't force others to change their mind, leaders who give each side their due. The easiest argument reduces to absurdity the argument of the opponent. Everybody can do that. Our own weakness, clouded by self deception, is quite evident to the other side. Our deafening deeds block what we perceive as the good judgment of our cause. Power for change comes by example, a willingness to consider others, all others, on a par with oneself. Deeply held beliefs have life changing impact when reflected in people like, Mother Theresa, Mahatmas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Love for their enemies pounds forth truth that shatters walls of resistance. Hate and discord will always attend evil. Love brings people together.

May the things that I believe never make others feel or appear less worthy. I believe God loves me more than I could ever hope to think. I can afford to count others as better than myself. In fact, if truth be known, if God loves someone like me His love must be all inclusive.