The Blog

2021-

2021-01-23 a
ENEMIES?

We divide ourselves by clan and tribe, bound by blood or ideology, and are further aggregated into nations. National unity, however, is imposed by others, usually long dead. Nations remain bound by old compacts that devolved into dead letters yet are still displayed as symbols of unity.

National unity is a chimera subject to centrifugal as well as centripetal forces. It is an artifice; at times convenient; at times confining. Our consent must be earned constantly. Our consent cannot for long be demanded or forced. Duress is not durable; it is unstable and explosive.

Tyranny is not a good long-term strategy. Terror breeds terrorists. Subjugation and humiliation breed resentment. Injustice demands justice. Actions lead to reactions.

History provides many examples, but its lessons do not edify because they are unknown or ignored. We repeat old mistakes.

The adept keep score. The inept settle scores. We are kept in turmoil by unseen hands. We play our futile parts as though our lives depended on that farce.

That is the tragedy.

Why do we fight among ourselves, ignoring our actual enemies? Is the roil and tumult essential?

How many see themselves as halfhearted gladiators always at other's throats, or espousing beliefs with all the sincerity of a high school debater, or, virtue-signaling just to fit in?

Right or Left. Red or Blue. Conservative or Liberal. Militant or Pacifist. Believer or Infidel. What do those labels really mean?

Essentially they are meaningless. They are the simplistic nomenclature of a taxonomy imposed by others. That nomenclature is not fixed. Once, I would have been called a classical liberal. Now, I am a conservative who values liberty as the highest good.

Your neighbor is seldom your enemy. His political leanings do not negate his skills or the kindness in his heart. His humanity is equal to yours.

When I see Leftists berate Rightists, the acrimonious scene is identical to how lower class Muslims berate Westerners. Both exhibit the same hauteur, the stance on moral high ground, the same invective, and the same murderous thoughts and actions.

I would laugh if I were heartless, but those scenes sadden me.

I know who are the real enemies of humanity, of peace, and of prosperity.

They are your enemies as well.

Stop fighting each other.

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