Xenophobia

"Can't we all just get along?" -- Rodney King

   Fear of the unknown is so widespread as to be almost universal. Knowledge, however, can overcome many fears. Moreover, this principle applies to people as well as to circumstance. Get to know a person or group, and you may find your fear to be less of a problem than you thought.
   A bigger danger is not the danger itself, but the fear of danger, especially when fear-mongers exploit a latent fear for political gain.
   The technical term is xenophobia, from the Greek meaning "fear of strangers." Fear of the unknown can be a healthy thing, since it protects people from danger. Caution can be helpful. But when the fear becomes so strong as to be overwhelming, preventing any action, then it rises to the level of a phobia, and is no longer healthy.
   Knowledge and awareness of mutual differences can mitigate many fears, leading to understanding, and in turn to learning how to accept others' beliefs without fearing that your own are in danger.
   On a political and international level, this becomes important, and can go a long way to eliminating the threat of violence and war.