George, on the tendency to look for enemies.

Question: Can people of different faiths co-exist?

Bill George: I would say religious and ethic conflicts have had an enormous force in a very negative sense.  I’m a Christian, but if you look at how many wars have been fought over Christianity – and we see today in the Muslim world, and the Jewish world – I’m very, very concerned about this.  And I think it’s had a very negative force.  And I think it’s a tragedy that people of faith, and people who are people of belief tend to separate today rather than use that to bring people together.  And the fact that we’ve gone off in so many different directions, and we look at people of difference belief sets as evil.  And some of this you can see in an African tribal setting; you can see here in the United States in various groups proselytizing for their set of beliefs, and actually looking for enemies and setting people off almost like Satan and the devil.  And I think this has been extremely damaging in society.  And it’s cost us many, many wars and you know, millions of lives.

Recorded on: 7/6/07