At least two thirds of our miseries spring from human stupidity, human malice and those great motivators and justifiers of malice and stupidity, idealism, dogmatism and proselytizing zeal on behalf of religious or political idols
-- Aldous Huxley
Do You Agree or Disagree and Why?
Hmmm...I don't know if I can blame it on religion or politics, but I can agree with most of the attribuets the quote lists.
Human stupidity can definately cause some ill feelings. Not only because of what a person may feel if he/she has done somethint stupid, but because of the "human malice" that sparks from one's actions.
Whether it be because of politics or religion or some other reason, people's bad attitudes play a large part in a person feeling miserable. Nobody likes to be teased or made fun of, but our society is so set around stereotypical standards that it's inevitable that people will be cruel to others. We do see a lot more negativity during election time because people get so offended easily by the "other side." Not to mention that people who really get into the whole election thing tend to push their side of the candidates that they do not pay attention if what they're saying or how they're saying it is offensive.
With religion, it's along those same lines. People like to persecute those who follow a religion, whether it be Christianiaty, Muslim, or anything other sect of religion.
I think another factor of people's misery is trying to live up to the materialistic standards the world has set. Everybody spends so much of their time working to earn money to buy the nice things or have the certain lifestyle that a lot of times it causes more grief than good.