Most writers will assert that inspiration comes from the search for the "human condition" and how it drives ... um, people. Most writers abide in the First World, are educated enough to carry on a decent* conversation and are generally aware of life inside a social realm.
It's the social realm where we conveniently fit because we are attuned to the agenda. The agenda that tells us that intolerance is never acceptable. The agenda is known to change without notice, creating some awkward moments. I mean, I am OK with LGBT, but I don't know about the other 9 letters that come after that.
I am also intolerant of people who think I have no right to have opinions, which usually are pinned to my level of tolerance on any given matter. Gregorian chants suck, OK?
The First World is the perfect place to nurture diverse ideas. If you live in some other world, the options are different. Not better, just different. Cut down a tree to feed your family and we'll embargo your country for letting a poor farmer destroy the rain forest.
Understanding the "human condition" means having virtually zero idea what true poverty includes and why it won't ever go away. That doesn't mean not caring about it or not fixing the parts that aren't too deeply embedded in the problem. If you don't understand the problem, refrain from evaluating it from your pulpit.
Everybody is prejudiced, naturally.
Everyone is a bigot, intentionally.
We're all biased. That's not a sin, and it isn't a sin to write as though it's not. Everybody hates the bad guy -- even if he does have some socially redeeming value -- and we all abhor the evil creature from Xaptrahonia who comes to Earth to eat all the females. Yeah, that's evil ... but if this creature doesn't get his nourishment, he dies. Do we care? Well, if we care about all things, then the Xaptrahonian culture should be pretty precious to us.
In the same way a nest of ground hornets serves a natural purpose anywhere except near your back porch.
Hell, even Hitler liked dogs.
You gotta hate something if you want to bond with people who can make you feel good about yourself. If you are alone, you will never experience the human condition, which has finally lost its quote marks.
As writers, we can all perch high above it and pretend we have this insight, insight brought about by our ability to spell, punctuate and make it all grow into sentences, paragraphs and pamphlets.
We don't need to be so arrogant about it.
* As defined by Facebook.
