“People's beliefs don't exist in isolation. Everyone's firmly held beliefs exert an enormous pressure on everyone else.”

Variant: That everyone is identical in their secret unspoken belief that way deep down they are different from everyone else. That this isn't necessarily perverse.
Source: Infinite Jest (1996)

Source: State of Fear

&quot;It is good to be a stranger&quot; http://www.hungarianpresence.ca/Culture/Literature/varnai-interview-e.cfm. <br class="br">Interview

1950s

Source: Pretties

Source: Infinity Beach (2000), Chapter 6 (p. 84)

Architects of Peace (2000)
Context: Unlike the small community, where every person lives in the illusion of having the same ideals, beliefs, and values as everyone else, in the larger context of plural communities — be it in country, continent, or globe — we live in the illusion of absolute difference. So, fearing the possibility that the interaction will change us, we magnify the threat involved in engaging with that which differs from us. Change is stressful, and costly, because it requires learning to navigate the unfamiliar. In the end, you cannot work with anyone who is different, and problems that could be resolved if we allowed everyone to contribute the best of themselves begin to look intractable.