Who Is Your Enemy? (Division in America)

Who is your enemy? How do you define the enemy? I think as a nation we need to answer these questions and reevaluate ourselves as a country. We call ourselves the “United” States of America, but it feels like those words are empty now.

As an empath, I can feel the emotions of not only those close to me but also the populace as a collective. When the general emotion is happiness I get a warm comfortable feeling. But, when people in general are unhappy, worried, angry, or hurt I also feel those things strongly. Right now even the general emotions are divided, but none of them are happy.

I could blame it on the recent election because elections always cause strong emotions from everyone. Whether you vote red, blue, or independent, there will always be wins and losses that affect you with every election cycle. But, this is more than the politics and the election.

This is more personal. The American people are divided and becoming even more divided as the days go on. There was always the division between the Democrats and the Republicans, the conservatives and the liberals. But, there was still respect for the person despite the party politics. Now, it’s not just politics. It seems to be everything.

These days it seems more and more people are seeing an enemy in anyone who thinks or believes differently, no matter what it is. If we keep going on this way, we will see an enemy in someone who has a different favorite color! We’ve stopped seeing each other as equals.

As a country, we are no longer strong. Unity brings strength. There is an old saying, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” Even THAT doesn’t seem to be true anymore. People seem to be looking for reasons to dislike other people instead of looking for similarities.

Families are divided and not speaking to each other. Friends are separated over differing beliefs. Strangers no longer smile at each other in the grocery store. Instead, they look at one another with a wary eye as if waiting for them to attack for some reason.

Unfortunately, here in the “United” States of America, everyone is an enemy until they become a friend. As far as I am concerned this is backward thinking. We should see each other as friends first until they do something to you to cause a separation. Simply thinking differently should not be a reason to see another as an enemy.

Those who watch the news and politics religiously may worry about wars and attacks from other countries. But, how many of them can see that the division in the country makes us more vulnerable? Whatever happened to the swelling of pride of September 12, 2001? Race, color, religion, belief, lifestyle, and everything else didn’t matter then. We were all Americans.

If 9-11 happened today, we would crumble into dust. We’ve lost the cohesion that held us all together. There are so many ways we are dividing ourselves that an enemy wouldn’t have much trouble taking us over.

Perhaps that is exactly what is happening and we aren’t aware of it. We are all looking for a violent physical war with weapons and bombs. Instead, we are battling our own internal war against each other.

Who is to say there isn’t another country or two out there watching like a cat over a mouse trapped in a box? When the time is right to strike, we won’t be strong enough to fight back. We are too worn out fighting each other.

Today we may know our neighbor’s political leaning, religious belief, or some other such thing. But we don’t take the time to know their favorite color, where they like to eat when they go out, or more personal details that make them real people.

We have dehumanized each other. Each of us wants to be treated as special and human, yet we look at each other as unimportant and expendable. We mourn the death of a loved one, yet in the next breath, we wish someone dead simply because they don’t believe everything we do.

We can never know why people believe as they do. A person’s past forms their future. Experiences shape us and our belief systems. Yet, we want to judge others because they don’t believe what we do, never considering they have different life experiences.

Will we come together again in time to save the country, or are we doomed to fall? We are going into the Christmas season now, which used to bring a special kind of peace and unity worldwide. What will this holiday season bring? Will we be able to feel the Christmas spirit or will we be looking to find enemies in the people around us?

Isn’t it hypocritical to sing carols of peace, love, and joy when we wish our neighbor ill will or death? We don’t have to keep living this way. Each of us can make a difference.

It really does just take ONE person. The chain of love can be continuous if we are all willing to open our hearts to love one another instead of seeing everyone as an enemy. Be the first to smile at a stranger. Ask your neighbor if you can help them in some way.

Actions speak louder than words. If you profess to be a believer in love for others, then condemn someone and wish them death you are a hypocrite. If you want to persuade others that your way is correct, show them how it makes you a better person, a better human. Be the one who shows love to someone else.

In the end, we are all humans. No matter what we think, believe, look like or do, we are all still humans.