Read the excerpt from Act 2 of The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street.

CHARLIE (CONT’D)

He comes walkin' out of the darkness—how am I supposed to

know who he was?

(he grabs Steve)

Steve—you know why I shot! How was I supposed to know he wasn't a monster or something?

(he grabs Don now)

We're all scared of the same thing. I was just tryin' to . . . tryin' to protect my home, that's all! Look, all of you, that's all I was tryin' to do.

(he looks down wildly at the body)

I didn't know it was somebody we knew! I didn't know—

Which statement best reflects the theme expressed in this excerpt?