On: Europe's far right leaders gather in Milan rally against immigration

They gather, these men who call themselves leaders, and speak of threats from across borders. But I wonder: who drew those borders? Who decided that this line on a map must be defended with such passion? The crowd cheers, but I do not understand why they cheer for the very lines that divide them from their neighbors.

A man stands and says we must fear the stranger. Yet the stranger has no power except what we give him by our fear. The true puzzle is not the stranger’s arrival, but why we believe we must build walls against him. Walls require builders. Guards require salaries. Fear requires consent.

They speak of security, but security from what? From the idea that the world might change? From the thought that customs are not laws of nature? The remarkable thing is not that these leaders gather, but that so many come to listen - not out of love, but out of habit.

If a friend told you to hate a man you had never met, would you obey? Then why obey when a stranger on a stage says the same? I do not understand the arithmetic of this obedience. One man speaks, and ten thousand nod. Why?