I think I am with you on this for the most part, but I think maybe I have a little more cynical view of humanity, at least as far as the peace and understanding ideas.

I mean, I think that humanity is basically good, or at least that individual humans mostly are when taken as individuals, but that there are always going to be individuals or groups that adopt misanthropic ideas. And that as long as those individuals or groups aren't trying to actually physically harm me or my group, then I have absolutely no right to try to forcibly change their beliefs or behavior. And I believe that for that reason, there will always be some individual or group that goes off the deep end and tries to harm someone or otherwise do them ill. Because for all the basic goodness of humanity, we are still flawed critters.

And when that gauntlet drops, I believe that the ideas of tolerance end there. It is like we were taught when we were young, that a person should never, ever /start/ a fight. But if someone else starts or brings a fight to you, then you finish that fight, fast and hard, and make sure that the other guy will think twice before starting anything with you again.

Maybe I am once again only viewing the world through the lens of my own ideals, but it seems like we can reduce most all conflicts to a basic philosophical schism between individualism and collectivism. The ISIL-world that you refer to, that's a collectivist world. And they certainly have the right to believe what they want. But when someone representing that group comes to me and says "repent now, or we will kill you", then (in my opinion), the time for tolerance is over, and we have a responsibility fight back, to preserve the egalitarian ideals of individualism that western (classical) liberalism is founded on.

I don't mean to single out orthodox Islam (or to imply that /all/ people who believe in Islam are intolerant), just that it's the most relevant in the current age. There have been plenty of other intolerant collectivist groups in the present and throughout history that I think the same ideas apply to. In all these cases, it seems like the problems stem from an intolerant collectivist group seeking to oppress individualistic thought, expression, and culture outside of their own. And there is often something about these groups that causes them to resist reason and peaceful solutions, perhaps that collectivist "mob mentality", but I don't know... And for that reason, I believe that there is unfortunately sometimes nothing to be done except to draw our sidearms and put those folks in the ground when they attack us, because we don't have the right to be the Thought Police and forcibly change their beliefs and/or behavior before they get violent and cross the point of no return. I mean, sure, there are plenty of peaceful solutions, but when those solutions involve forcing someone else to adopt them, then that's just as bad (or often worse) than going without, IMO.

But maybe the "individualist group" is really just a collective that has taken on the mantle of "individualism", and all of my beliefs are based on an untruth. Aaaaaa, brain explosion, lol.

Sorry, I go on at great length again. ;( I hope that I have not been too offensive to anyone!