Hail all! 
Just to throw in a good ten Soverigns worth of ha'pennies, I've been spending a
lot of time recently thinking about society, politics, sociology, and the human race in general. Coincidentally enough, similar threads to this one are currently happening on every other board that I use with the sole exception of the Official
BAL-SAGOTH Forum, which only gets two posts every three months anyway!
To put everything into a huge melting pot and come across with my own opinion on the subject;
The whole human race is right up cr@p creek without a paddle in it's current state. Throughout the last 3,500 or so years of organised society, numerous little factions - Each with their own little agenda - Have sprouted up all over the place. Such factions can take any form - Whether it be based on religious views, the colour of ones flesh, ones sexual inclinations, or even the preference of a Class 350 over a 450...Despite however miniscule the differences between one faction and another might actually be. :roll:
To paraphrase, I'll cite three common examples of such "factionism" in todays society, and the views that I have concerning people who hail from "opposing" factions to my own:
- Politics:
From skimming through this thread, I see that at least two other posters are supporters of the BNP. Now personally, I don't like the BNP at all. Admittedly part of my personal dislike for the party is probably a result of the bad press that's normally associated with them, but another part of that dislike is because I do not agree with a lot of their views. In my case, I have exactly the same sentiment for Labour and the Conservatives.
However...Even though I don't like the BNP myself, I won't hold a grudge against any BNP supporters/members just because they support the BNP. No matter how "misguided" - And I use that word in an extremely liberal context - A political view or party may be, everyone should have the right to support who or what it is they want to support.
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- Religion:
Hands up how many Christians we have on the forum! Aye, I can see a lot of hands being thrust up there, and on the flip-side of the coin I wouldn't be surprised if I am one of very few - If not the only - Adherant of Asatrú (Norse Paganism) on the forum. With Asatrú being a polytheist religion (We have a number of Gods and Goddesses) and one where the relationship between adherant and deity is vastly different to the "norm", I often get told by a lot of Christians (Born-again Evangelists, usually) that my ways are "wrong" and that I'm "going to burn in eternal fire" because I do not acknowlege the existance of either the Lord or Jesus Christ. :roll:
Now personally, I detest such intolerance of the existance of other religions. That is to say that one thing that f**ks me off more than anything else is someone effectively saying "I follow [Insert religion here] which is the right way, the ONLY way...And the religion that you profess to follow is not only the wrong one, it's a completely invalid system of beliefs!" - Even though I follow a Warrior religion that believes in honour and strength above all else - A religion where many followers have a less than wholesome view of better-known monotheist religions - I'm still happy to share the World in which I live with people who follow beliefs that differ vastly to my own.
Of my good friends, I can count no less than three Christians, two Muslims, five Satanists, two Jews, a Celt, and three Druids...And even though my own views differ to them all, I still manage to get along with them. After all...Every one of us believes in what we choose to believe in, and amongst my circle of friends at least we all acknowlege that one has just as much right to hold their own religious or anti-religious beliefs as another, and that no one system of belief should ever be held to be "better" or more "right" than any other. 8)
To wind-up on this point, I'll recommend This Video that I came across a while ago. It offers an extremely interesting view on religion, whilst at the same time managing to stay completely away from the topic of religion itself. It's well worth a look if ye get the time!
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- Social Caste:
Metalheads, Chavs, Rappers and Rudeboys all have one thing in common; They all hate each others guts, and often there is a very strong temptation to "shoot on sight" whenever member(s) of one caste run headlong into the member(s) of another, strongly differing one. The actual reasons as to why this might be are easily open to debate, but - Speaking as a Metalhead myself - I would imagine that the core roots of such inherant differences might lie either in the discomfort of one group caused by the presence of another, and/or a natural human habit towards tribal behavior and keeping a hold of "their territory". Again, this is another example of the "factioning" that I describe at the start of this post, and there seems to be a natural tendancy for humans to organise themselves into groups of people who are similar in one or more regards.
(Consider at this point why we are all members of this forum, and whether or not we are forming yet another "faction" in using this board!
)
Speaking from my own standpoint as a MetalHead, I have to admit that I do not feel at all comfortable around Rappers and Rudeboys for the most part...And my opinion on Chavs is particularly distasteful. At the same time however, I cannot honestly describe why I feel uncomfortable around those three groups of people, or why they may feel uncomfortable around me. Could it be due to a measure of unfamiliarity or intolerance on my part, on their part, or could it be a bit of both? I cannot honestly say...Or at least I cannot say without the risk of my opinion being biased towards my own caste. 
To prevent this point running into pages and pages of froth, I'll simply wind up by saying that - As a general rule - Although I do not feel comfortable around those three types of people, I do everything that I can to tolerate and accept their presence wherever I go...Simply because - If nothing else - They are just as human as I, the fact that I am a Metalhead makes me no better or worse than them in any way, and the true heart of the matter is that they have just as much right to exist in their own way as I exist within mine. 8)
In my own personal opinion - And yours may (And probabally will) vary - The best way for the human race to get itself out of the gutter and working properly would be if
everyone put aside their differences and worked
together towards a World where everyone could happily live side-by-side with an even footing. Even though there will
always be differences of opinion on literally
every subject under the Sun, if people could simply realise that the opposite viewpoint to their own is just as valid in it's own way as theirs, then we might be one step closer to a World where religion, regionality and rolling-stock preferences don't make the blindest bit o' difference in the grand scale of things.
Unfortunateley there are other "bugs" in society that would need to be resolved in some way or another - Material greed being one example that comes to my mind - And one of the greatest hurdles to be overcome is the simple fact that a lot of people - Myself included, may my tongue turn black for saying it! - Often want to find themselves in a "higher" position than their peers in some way or another. Though I have looked at myself and other people on a number of occasions to try and figure out
why such a desire exists within humanity - And how it could be destroyed - I have so far not been able to find a concrete answer to that question...Except perhaps that it might be an extension of the greed principle that seeks
control and
power over others insted of the usual wealth.
To conclude:
If mankind can finally learn to accept and respect his peers, to learn to live with and respect them for who and what they are - No matter how distant from his own nature that may be - And to work alongside them with the aims of a greater World at heart...Then mankind will hath finally fufilled his ultimate destiny, and with the same arc of his Blade will hath destroyed the accursed daemons of intolerance and greed that - Sadly - Exist within us all.

However...If humankind malignedly chooses to further his existance in the way that he currently persues - In the constant struggle for
more money and
more power - Then may the Gods themselves smite us all into the void from whence we came, afore we deign to destroy this World - And the many innocent creatures within - That we hath chosen to make our home...
Farewell...And may my many words above prove to be true words of wisdom, and not merely the meaningless froth of a madman...
>> Death <<