Abandon All Hope

There is a lack of civility in today's society. Is it because of wars , terrorism, and genocide? Is it because of the continuing prominence of drugs in today's society ? Is it because of the proliferation of guns? Or is it because of the rhetoric of those who urge us to embrace paradise but instead bring us to the gates of hell where as Dante put it " lasciate ogni speranza voi ch' entrate". Yes, abandon all hope if we cross the line into a barbaric society ! Then again hasn't this always been the story of mankind ? Witness The Crusades, The Inquisition, The Holocaust and Jihad. Up until now we have maintained some semblance of a civilized society and have not crossed the line, but as we increasingly put ourselves in the hands of clerics whether they be radical Muslims or our own evangelistic religious right we stand poised to cross the line. Let's go on a jihad to convince clerics of all stripes that they must in the strongest terms condemn violence as a solution for religious and political frustrations. Making tolerance for one another's beliefs the foundation of religion would be a good start. To accept anything less would be to abandon all hope!
Mixing religion with political objectives has always proven to be disastrous. Separation of the two of course is not a complete solution but leaders both political and religious committed to peaceful solutions would be a good start. If we accept anything less we will be abandoning all hope!