To an
aggressor, an array of enemies divided is no deterrent, not even if they are all
themselves allies. All the aggressor sees is weak targets ripe for elimination.
The aggressor may attempt to hide his intentions behind oily promises, may even
put up the front of sharing his enemies’ desires. However, behind that pleasant
façade lurks a mind bent on destroying all that does not conform to his
vision of what society should be and grinding beneath his heel all opposition.
The most fervent supporters of the aggressor cannot be reasoned with. He fed them the very lies they needed to hear as balm to wounded pride. He promised to deliver them to a brighter future where their livelihoods are secure - by giving them enemies against which to rage and hate. He sang a siren song of national unity to bring them together under his leadership. They don’t see that he deceived them. He said he would ease their fears, and that is all they hear. They don’t see that he used them, stoking their fears, to reach that pinnacle where now he stands.
They don’t see that he turned the very foundations of their society into enemies to be destroyed, keeping only those that serve his purpose.
The most fervent supporters of the aggressor cannot be reasoned with. He fed them the very lies they needed to hear as balm to wounded pride. He promised to deliver them to a brighter future where their livelihoods are secure - by giving them enemies against which to rage and hate. He sang a siren song of national unity to bring them together under his leadership. They don’t see that he deceived them. He said he would ease their fears, and that is all they hear. They don’t see that he used them, stoking their fears, to reach that pinnacle where now he stands.
They don’t see that he turned the very foundations of their society into enemies to be destroyed, keeping only those that serve his purpose.
The
aggressor doesn’t need to fear his enemies. They’re divided while he and his
are united behind his purpose. He doesn’t even need to dirty his hands if he
wants to stay above the fray. His sycophants and supporters will do all the
dirty work and bloodletting for him. And one-by-one, the enemies who weakened
themselves in their division fall, their voices silenced, lives reduced to less
than mud on a roadside, casualties of war and systemic destruction.
Anyone who
doesn’t believe we’re on the brink of that war and destruction is fooling
themselves. One needs only read the histories to see that this pattern has
happened before and is happening again.
We can’t afford to be fighting amongst ourselves any more. We’re already seeing the piecemeal attempt at conquering opposition: the discrediting of the media, singling out transgendered persons, the targeting of immigrants (particularly Muslims). The list goes on and on. The current regime has become adept at focusing peoples’ attention on one issue at a time while working on multiple fronts against many targets.
And what are we doing while this happens? We fight amongst ourselves. Some turn a blind eye to one thing or another in the false belief that it doesn’t affect them. We see only our own small part of the social tapestry and ignore the fire being set to it. Against a storm surge that threatens to engulf us all, too many cling to dissolving comfort zones like crumbling driftwood in the flood.
We need to come together, even with our differences, to defend and protect each other against the attack now being brought to bear. We cannot allow the “us vs. them” to continue among allies needed to take a collective stand. We have reasons upon reasons not to trust each other; our own pasts are filled with injustices in which we willing or no played some part. Our own prejudices and unyielding notions are weapons in the hands of those who seek to do us all harm. Our anger toward each other is the flaw in the links that can hold us together – a flaw those opposed to us will waste no time exploiting.
We can’t afford to be fighting amongst ourselves any more. We’re already seeing the piecemeal attempt at conquering opposition: the discrediting of the media, singling out transgendered persons, the targeting of immigrants (particularly Muslims). The list goes on and on. The current regime has become adept at focusing peoples’ attention on one issue at a time while working on multiple fronts against many targets.
And what are we doing while this happens? We fight amongst ourselves. Some turn a blind eye to one thing or another in the false belief that it doesn’t affect them. We see only our own small part of the social tapestry and ignore the fire being set to it. Against a storm surge that threatens to engulf us all, too many cling to dissolving comfort zones like crumbling driftwood in the flood.
We need to come together, even with our differences, to defend and protect each other against the attack now being brought to bear. We cannot allow the “us vs. them” to continue among allies needed to take a collective stand. We have reasons upon reasons not to trust each other; our own pasts are filled with injustices in which we willing or no played some part. Our own prejudices and unyielding notions are weapons in the hands of those who seek to do us all harm. Our anger toward each other is the flaw in the links that can hold us together – a flaw those opposed to us will waste no time exploiting.
Our enemies
have made it very clear what they will do to us if given the chance. We are the
only ones who can deny them that opportunity – but we cannot do it if we don’t
face them together. So many of the things we came to rely on in the past are
not there to protect us anymore. Our government is paralyzed, our judicial
systems under attack, and the media more and more discredited. The protections
we thought we had are dissolving before us every day.
I believe that the future holds a time when we can move beyond the differences, that we can all be seen as thinking and feeling individuals instead of classified and segregated by labels. I believe the future holds a time when all cultural backgrounds are seen as valid instead of a basis for stereotypes and prejudice. I believe the future holds a time when we can propel ourselves together as a collective whole rather than the staggered struggle that hobbles far too many.
But we can’t reach that future if we don’t find it within ourselves to stand together now against the enemy at the gate. No, not at the gate – the enemy already got past it.
I believe that the future holds a time when we can move beyond the differences, that we can all be seen as thinking and feeling individuals instead of classified and segregated by labels. I believe the future holds a time when all cultural backgrounds are seen as valid instead of a basis for stereotypes and prejudice. I believe the future holds a time when we can propel ourselves together as a collective whole rather than the staggered struggle that hobbles far too many.
But we can’t reach that future if we don’t find it within ourselves to stand together now against the enemy at the gate. No, not at the gate – the enemy already got past it.
No comments:
Post a Comment