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WE DON'T AGREE, BUT.... How to Live in an Age of Terrorism

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In his book "We Don't Agree, but ... How to Live in an Age of Terrorism", Paul Siegel argues strongly that competition in the United States has become a "secular religion". Paul paints a picture of a society so obsessed with "winning" that it makes its three-year olds compete for entrance to a pre-school, and teaches its commercial leaders that "business resembles nothing so much as war itself".

But this is not a book about the excesses of the competitive instinct, even though Paul talks about many of these excesses. It is, instead, a profound and deeply philosophical rationale for the opposite of competition; "cooperation".

By applying a cooperative attitude to every aspect of our lives -- within ourselves, our family, our career, our communities and even the world -- we take the first steps on the path to a more fulfilling and rewarding life, and help reduce the threat of terrorism.

Paul's book is just over 370 pages long, extremely well written, logically structured, informative and persuasive. It is scattered with interesting anecdotes on a variety of famous and infamous people, including Bill Gates, Carl Sagan, Rodney King, Osama bin Laden, Timothy McVeigh, Ayn Rand, Cecil Rhodes, Andrew Carnegie, Mike Tyson, Rosa Parks, George C. Scott, Linus Torvalds, Mother Teresa, the Dalai Lama, Albert Einstein and many others.

Section 1 investigates the link between competition and aggression, and delves into the effect of religious competition on society, the effect of competition on the social divide between the rich and the poor, and the resentment that is produced by a system that employs a philosophy of "winners and losers".

Section 2 discusses cooperation, harmony and it's application in producing "win-win" situations for all participants. Spanning religion, business, science, society and more, it showcases a variety of positive examples of cooperation and provides examples of the far-sighted individuals who employed this philosophy successfully.

Section 3 is a life tutorial, offering a step-by-step guide to applying a cooperative approach to your life, and in doing so, improving the life of all those around you. It also addresses the root causes of terrorism, and offers a sane, practical and accessible manner of dealing with it.

I recommend Paul Siegel's book "We Don't Agree, but ... How to Live in an Age of Terrorism" heartily. It is a great read, and will give you some wonderful ideas on how to improve your life and the lives of those around you. If everyone in the world genuinely employed cooperation instead of competition, there would be no place (and no reason) for terrorism or war.