A large number of America’s violent attacks and murders result from perpetrators’ anger and ignorance. Given the rising frequency of violent attacks and killings over the last couple of decades, one can infer that their ignorance is intensifying the anger and resentment of a certain demographic of our fellow countrymen.

A simple and telling example of their blind ignorance is their not knowing that turban-wearing Sikhs have nothing to do with Arabs or Muslims. Sadly, many attacks on America’s Sikh community have occurred since 9/11, a moment that has formed a certain watershed in America’s right-wing violence.

Added to the ignorance propelling many who are angry, is hate. It is a stand-alone seizure of the heart, or a passion fanned by preaching or exhortation from peers or radical leaders. One can only look at it with sadness, and regret that love and knowledge — the antidotes for hate and ignorance — don’t seem to be a common currency among these disciples of violence and disruption.

My interest in American domestic terrorism dates back to 1995 when Timothy McVeigh, a Coloradan, blew up Oklahoma City’s Murrah Federal Building killing 168 people, including 19 children.

As a newly minted American citizen I was flabbergasted that another citizen would kill so many of our fellow countrymen.

The intense, momentary furor quickly quieted down, to be replaced by our collective disgust and anger at Osama Bin Laden’s directed 9/11 attacks that killed more than 3,000 Americans and foreign nationals.

My sense is Bin Laden had both hate, and knowledge of his reasons for attacking the “American infidels,” resulting in mass murder. In their confusion I have doubts that McVeigh and other “American nationalists” have a good grasp of American history and her true Constitution.

Until recently American domestic terrorism has been relegated to the back pages of our concerns; a lassitude that’s been recently broken by many copying McVeigh’s terrorist attack. America’s violent harvest is ordinarily committed by young white men, ignorant followers of the siren song of hatred.

They are misguided and quite pathetic and often have no solid reason to kill. For many, there is a grudge against groups of people; quite often people who have never done them any harm.

More frequently they don’t know it is the wrong group they are targeting.

They may be lonely and probably disappointed in their lives before they join their internet groups. The anger and hatred fanned by the mind-bending internet gurus is nicely encapsulated.

They swallow it and soon become valiant warriors for the imaginary causes.

What is not done is to give these young people truthful knowledge, or wisdom. Their violence can be related to a deep well of hate and a shallow pool of knowledge. I imagine a scientist would say: Love and knowledge are inversely equal to violence and ignorance. Hate laced with anger should not be cultivated. Rather our institutions — schools, churches, elders, leaders — should endeavor to help us free ourselves from these destructive tendencies.

It is easy to write about young men who do evil; it is sexy.

It’s much harder to talk about what is lacking in their lives and nearly impossible to prescribe a practical and effective therapy. It seems to me that understanding America’s yesterday — in war against communism all across the world and our victory over the Soviet Union — would be helpful. Our children should understand why the world is the way it is today; why Central America is a violent, undemocratic melange and so many there are headed north.

And perhaps also a reminder that citizens of America include American Indians, European immigrants and once enslaved Africans would go a long way to calming young whites’ angry souls. The fact is, no one wants to replace them. Like Woody Guthrie sang: “This land is my land. This land is your land.” Whatever anyone might say, that is just a fact.

King Hammurabi, as well as the Old testament Books of Exodus and Leviticus talk of eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth as rational revenge. As for me, I opt to follow Gandhi’s dictum: “an eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.”

Pius Kamau, M.D., general surgery, is president of the Aurora-based Africa America Higher Education Partnerships; co-founder of the Africa Enterprise Group and president of the Consortium of African Diasporas in the U.S.A. He has been a National Public Radio commentator and a blogger, and is author of “The Doctor’s Date with Death.”