March 1, 2003 PlanetLightworker Newsletter Who is my enemy? Years ago, the famous cartoonist, Walt Kelly, wrote this immortal line for his character, Pogo Possum, "We have met the enemy... and he is us." I could end this commentary with that quotation, for it speaks loudly to a point, namely, the dualistic nature of my way of looking at the world. Another quote comes to mind, the ever popular, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” That is a tough way to find friends. What is an “enemy?” The term gets tossed around a lot nowadays, linked to various nations and people not to mention in jingoistic sound bites like “Axis of Evil.” Sounds like an organization that a comic book, super hero (Bush?) battles. If only he were just a character in a comic book… An enemy is someone (or organization) that is opposed to me. It is against something that I am for. So to have an enemy, I need to be “for” something. That is to say that I have a “position” about something with which someone disagrees to the extent that he, she, or it actively works to knock me off the pedestal of my position. This may involve a glare, verbal confrontation, a blow, burning my house down, or burning me down. I may be motivated to do the same to my “enemy.” Sure makes for excitement, and when the intensity is great enough and there are enough people involved, we call this a war, except in the US where only Congress can create a war, so since 1945, we call them military actions. That is much less barbaric sounding and gets Congress off the hook. How can I be so “for” something that I would endorse or participate in the murder of other people who are “for” the opposite of my “for?” Gosh, they may not even know about either “for.” Some victims of my wrath may have simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time, and not one of the true “for” combatants? That is called collateral damage, another of those neat and tidy terms that sounds like a broken file cabinet instead of viscera spattered on the sidewalk? Thinking about “enemies” in this context causes me to wonder: what am I really “for”? What are the possessions and principles about which I am so convinced of my righteousness that I would destroy another human, or at the least, deny him the necessities of life? Is it oil? Is it the sovereignty of a nation? Is it an ancient religious belief with its roots centuries ago? Is it a language I don’t understand? Is it his hair or skin color? Is it because he litters the countryside? Is it that I am willing to murder someone because he aborts fetuses? Is it because I am told that my God is more holy than his God? What? It is a very long list… When I looked at this question of what am I “for” that would justify my regarding someone as an enemy, I could not come up with anything… nothing. So, coming back to Pogo’s pronouncement, “We have met the enemy… and he is us,” I must agree with Pogo. I am my own enemy, as schizophrenic as it may sound. If this is true, then what I am “for” that I am also “against?” I am “for” loving acceptance of all humans as well as our blessedly nourishing, but abused, Earth. And I am against loving acceptance because nice guys finish last. As long as I get mine and way more than I need, then you can have the rest and don’t complain. I am so fearful in my humanness that I am driven to accumulate whatever I “must have” to ensure my physical and psychological safety. Gimme that duct tape and plastic sheeting, and pass the ammunition. There is obviously not enough for all of us, so get in the back of the line for the scraps, or take it up with my Smith and Wesson, Uzi, Ak-47, plastique, smart bomb, whatever it takes. Might makes right, and I am a citizen of the mightiest nation on Earth, and I guess that makes it (and me) the most righteous, huh? I weep for myself and all of those called enemy, and from one perspective or another, that takes in pretty much of all of humanity. What can I do about being my own enemy? As in all things spiritual, awareness precedes thoughtful, rational action. This commentary is intended to awaken awareness. That’s as far as it goes. My actions are born of my awareness; what you do is what you do, and whatever you do is OK. There is always karma to maintain balance. I learned about enemies as a small child seeing caricatures of Hitler, Tojo, and Mussolini vilified as our “enemies.” It starts early, this “enemy” judgment. This is one of the reasons that Sandie Sedgbeer began the Children of the New Earth magazine that she announced in the February PlanetLightworker editor’s letter. If you have not seen the website, www.childrenofthenewearth.com, take a look. This is not a children’s magazine; it is about supporting children in this unique age in which they (and we) find themselves; it is about, in part, enabling children to avoid becoming their own enemies. Be well,
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