Imagine you’re a school principal and you see two children fighting on the playground. Your immediate reaction is to break it up and haul them back to your office. Once separated, you ask the children to explain themselves…

“Alright, lets hear it. Why were you fighting?” You point a stern finger at the child to your left.
His eyes open wide with self-righteousness, “He started it!”
You must have heard this plea at least a hundred times. You reply in an authoritative manner, “It doesn’t matter who started it. You’re both in big trouble and unless you tell me why you were fighting you’ll be in even bigger trouble.”
Upon the completion of this statement, you see that the boy on the right has cracked half a smile. You douse it with a directed blast of sheer awareness in your eyes. His face melts into a zombie-like stare.
The boy on the left blurts out, “He refuses to accept the truth!”
Puzzled, you reply, “The truth? What do you mean?”
He gives the boy on the right a hateful look as he speaks, “He does not believe in the religion of truth. I’ve been trying to convince him forever but no matter what I say he never believes.”
Astonished by his words, you exclaim, “What?!? So you decided to beat it into him?”
The boy on the left realizes your dissatisfaction and retreats from his confidence, “I… I did the right thing!” his eyes turn to tears, “I just want… The book says I should fight unbelievers! We cannot let them spread their lies and evil!”
“Clearly this boy is disturbed!” you think to yourself. Yet something isn’t right about this whole situation. You have a sneaking suspicion that the other boy must have something to do with this.

You announce, “I’ve heard enough” and point to the boy on the right; “Now what have you got to say for yourself?”
The other boy looks puzzled, “What?” he exclaims. You suspect that he’s hiding something so you stare his poker face to the ground. Guilt creeps its way across his brow.
In a very stern and slow voice you demand, “What did you do?”
His eyes look up then meet the floor, his mouth opens. It looks as though he’s trying to slowly inhale his way out of the situation.
Six or seven breaths go by before he speaks up, “I said he was stupid…” A look of shame suddenly befalls his face, “and I took his book.”
This doesn’t surprise you. “Typical,” you think to yourself. In a voice of disappointment you ask, “Where’s the book?”
In tears, the boy on the left shouts, “He threw it over the fence!!!”
Your heart begins to sink as you exhale, “Oh dear.”
“Is it true that you threw his book over the fence?” you ask.
You can see the fire ignite in the eyes of the boy on the right as he speaks, “Yes… But that was like three weeks ago!” Your eyes light up with curiosity as he continues, “It’s just a stupid book! You’d think I killed his sister or something, he won’t leave me alone!”

You’re befuddled at the situation. On the one hand, you can clearly see that the boy on the left has… Problems. He’s been mislead to believe in some sort of simplistic religion that only sees the world in black and white; truth or lies; believe or die.

On the other hand, the boy on the right overreacted and sounds like a bit of a bully. Come to think of it, this isn’t the first time he’s caused trouble at school. Throwing a boy’s book over the fence? What an insensitive clod.

“You two just started at this school, correct?” you ask both of them. They nod in reply. You shake your head, wondering how you’re going to keep these two from killing each other over the next several years.
You search your brain for wisdom and decide on the best advice, “Before I determine your punishment,” you pause in a stern voice, “I have a few words to share with you. They might just prevent you from getting into trouble again.”

You point to the boy on the left and gaze intently at him, “You need to re-think what is important. I’m no religious authority, but I can assure you that it is unethical to physically harm another person just because you disagree with them. I understand your frustration, but that behavior is unacceptable. If you keep it up, you’ll have a lot more than me to worry about in the future. It could bring a whole world of wrath upon you. Do you understand me?”
The boy looks down and states simply, “Yes… Sir.”

You then slowly move your finger towards the boy on the right as your gaze distinguishes the flames in his eyes, “and you need to learn restraint. You may find him annoying as all hell and he may even get you in trouble from time to time, but reacting the way you did is inexcusable. Do you even know who lives on the other side of that fence? If the people who live there find that book…” You shake your head at him, “Let me just say that I can only protect you when you’re in this school. We’ve had a good relationship with the owners of that property for quite some time now and I’d hate for an incident such as this to screw it up.”

Your eyes then return to the boy on the left as you warn him, “And don’t go getting any ideas about causing trouble with the people on the other side of the fence. They’re just dying for someone like you to come on over and get them all riled up. They’ll tell you that they’ll help you. They’ll tell you that they care. But when you need them most, they won’t be there.”

You shake your head and close your eyes for a moment to reflect upon what you’ve just said. You direct your voice at both of them, “You don’t have to be friends, but you have to get along. There are better things to fight for and there are better ways to go about it.”

You lean back in your chair and command, “I will inform your parents of what happened and both of you will serve a week of detention to reflect upon what I just said.” The boys look quizzically at each other. “Now get out of my office!”