Conflict, prejudice, fear, and hate are everyday realities that influence all of our lives. They are not just symptoms of recent times – they have probably been around for as long as humans have existed. The ancient Egyptians oppressed the Israelites living in Egypt, until they finally drove the Israelites out; and the Crusaders tried to liberate the holy city of Jerusalem from the “infidels.” The Nazis tried to cleanse their country of the Jews, Roma people (Gypsies), and others whom they despised; in 1994, the Hutus of Rwanda killed more than 800,000 Tutsis within a few months because some of the Hutus felt threatened and oppressed by the Tutsis. At the time of our writing, the nation of Sudan is plagued by genocide in its West Darfur region.

It is not only on a national or ethnic level that hate and prejudice play a role – they influence our lives on an interpersonal level as well. Blacks in the United States are still discriminated against, as are gays and lesbians. And even in neighborhoods and families, feelings of anger and hate are more prevalent than one may wish to admit. In 2003, 43 percent of all murders in the United States were committed by people known to the victims (Crime in the United States, 2003). So the question is: What can be done about hate and its terrible consequences, both on the interpersonal and the intergroup levels? There is certainly no magic-bullet cure for hate.