You must have an enemy

[skysidhe]

Easy for an Italian mobster to say. I fail at poker face.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by footfootfoot

On the other hand, sometimes enemies have all the things you want.

So it's only natural to kill them and take their stuff.

[GunMaster357]

Originally Posted by TheMercenary

Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer.

24 centuries since Sun Tzu said that... and still true.

[Gravdigr]

Find the book "State of Fear" by Michael Crichton. The story, meh, it's ok. What's worth ten times the story, is the author's eight or nine page theory at the back of the book describing how the gov't tries to keep a handle on us by use of a central fear. The Red Menace. Nukes. Russia. Global warming. North Korea. It's worth the price of the book. A real eye-opener.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by Gravdigr

Find the book "State of Fear" by Michael Crichton. The story, meh, it's ok. What's worth ten times the story, is the author's eight or nine page theory at the back of the book describing how the gov't tries to keep a handle on us by use of a central fear. The Red Menace. Nukes. Russia. Global warming. North Korea. It's worth the price of the book. A real eye-opener.

Having not read it, I have found through experience that much of that is politically motivated for funding of pet projects through Congress and the chain of dependence from business to politics. It is not the only reason but one of the many. On the other hand there are is a lot of people out there trying to do the right thing to protect us and do the work that is required to do that, regardless of personal risk. We just need to remember that when we speak in generalized terms of how screwed up the military industrial complex works to our benefit as a nation.

[SamIam]

I am my enemy's keeper.

[footfootfoot]

Originally Posted by Gravdigr

Find the book "State of Fear" by Michael Crichton. The story, meh, it's ok. What's worth ten times the story, is the author's eight or nine page theory at the back of the book describing how the gov't tries to keep a handle on us by use of a central fear. The Red Menace. Nukes. Russia. Global warming. North Korea. It's worth the price of the book. A real eye-opener.

See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Power_of_Nightmares

Part 1/3 (an hour long)
http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...9275960015727#

[skysidhe]

No one group of people should be lumped into an all consuming stereotype, and where there is a division in the mind toward a people, and every negative attribute ever conceived branded upon them, that person has categorically demonized them and called them enemy.

[xoxoxoBruce]

No one group of people should be lumped into an all consuming stereotype...

'Cept them dirty hippies.

[capnhowdy]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

'Cept them dirty hippies.

Yeah. They're ALL taking that pot.

Originally Posted by ZenGum

Can we take this thread as being cloned already?

For individuals, I know the sort of mental state you mean, but it just doesn't appeal to me. There are some individuals I dislike, and some who have pissed me off and needed to be dealt with, but once that is done, I move on and let go. So I have no enemies. And no, I haven't had anyone killed.

[Undertoad]

But, failing to have an actual enemy, we will always find one - somehow, somewhere.

Our brains are rewarded for having enemies. Identifying the other, and seeing it as deep danger, happens without us knowing it. There was a reason why this was put into us in our evolutionary past; at some point, it was important to our survival. But now, it threatens us every day.

We see that a huge amount of socialization informs the children how to get along with others. Years of repeated experiences and correction are needed. It usually needs to start at a really early age, like at the same time we are learning language. We figure out how our social world works by watching the other people and what they do.

A peaceful civilization is formed in the software of our culture, and it runs against the hardware of our genes. Everything we can possibly do to ensure this peace is very important. But what's needed won't always be obvious, because the instincts are so deep in us that we don't recognize them.

[xoxoxoBruce]

They don't even have to be identified, just having confidence that somewhere out there some person(s) is/are causing me(us) this misfortune.
This relieves me(us) of considering the possibility of having made a mistake or having misunderstood.
Oh, and it's safer, blaming God is a little risky, ya know.

[Griff]

I'm going with people who don't like dogs.

[Luce]

I hate those other bastards over there. Just like any right-thinking American.