living in a free and stable country

Caringheart wrote: What I was struck by was how he shared the fact that his anger came from always being made to feel an outsider in other societies, and when he came to the United States he was struck by how he was not treated that way... it is essentially what won his heart... not the girl...  the fact that he was not treated as less than, just because he came from another place.

Yes, I think there is some truth in that as well.  It reminds me of Ayaan Hirsi Ali's description of arriving in the Netherlands and being absolutely amazed at how complete strangers treated her with courtesy and respect.  Even the government officials actually seemed to care about her and were willing to help her, without any tribal connection or religious obligation or expectation of bribery.  And we do take that sort of thing for granted, don't we?  It's hard to imagine living in a society that doesn't work that way, but I guess it's more common than we might think.

On the other hand, I have often read the opinion that much of the murder and mayhem in the world is rooted in the frustration of young, single men who have no hope of a normal family life or a fulfilling relationship with a woman.  I think that also played a significant role here.

By the way, I should mention the typo I made in my previous message.  I meant that he had something to live for, not something to "love" for -- though maybe that's not a bad wording either.