We're surrounded by people whose basic philosophy seems to be "I've got something, at least, and I'm going to protect it at any cost! Keep away!" They remind me of lines by Aldous Huxley from Ape and Essence:
The leech's kiss,
The squid's embrace,
The prurient ape's defiling touch:
And do I like the human race?
No, not much.
THIS MEANS YOU. KEEP OUT!
Dress it up in whatever religious piety you want, it still seems a rather squalid view of life.
Fortunately, if we look for them, we also find we are surrounded by people who are much, much better than that.