Us vs. THEM!

“Them!” a great sci-fi movie of the 50’s with incredible political overtones.

Our capital and leadership are in Washington DC. What if it were in London? Or Lagos? Or Peking? What difference would it make? What if the leadership were white, or black or yellow or green? What difference would it make? The concept of a “world government” strikes fear in the heart of “us vs. them.” I have lived throughout the world and have found joy in each location. To me if DC were in Dakar or Moscow what difference would it make?

Is it the differences in color, language, eye configuration or even religion or lack of it that is important? Each group has unique qualities that give them value and humanity. The leaders in China care about the people as do America, Nigeria etc. What is the difference? Why wouldn’t a man from the UK or America be just as content to live in any other place on this earth?

Why would a modern American, who one would think able to find value and happiness anywhere due to his own internal peace within himself, long to return to America? Rescued from an alien land. What makes it alien? What makes me uncomfortable with "THEM!"?

What would it matter a government in Washington or elsewhere? How deeply is the power of “us vs. them” ingrained within us?

The "us vs. them" is a very powerful tool to unite forces before attacking - whether in war or politics. This is quite clearly shown in the responses that have erupted amongst the disciples. We go so lucidly from the spirit of philosophical discourse to the bickering of us vs. them in this very classroom.

Your words carry great weight. The question is, can they be received, processed and help us to see the fallacies in our own arguments that cause the "us vs. them" to perpetuate?

I stand in Douglas Arizona and look across the border at THEM! I stand at the border of Serbia and look into Kosovo at THEM! I stand at the line in Belfast and look into the neighborhood at THEM!

"The US is an honorable nation, one reason I became a US citizen after coming over the pond from the relic of history that is the UK. As bad as things are in the USA I don't see Cindy Sheehan, Michael Moore, or Tom Daschle hopping on a plane to somewhere else." CH

What makes the US an honorable nation CH? Perhaps we can view a glimpse of the reason when we look at the inscription on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty: "Give me your huddled masses..." America has a history of turning "Them" into "Us" and when America stops this and turns her eye, points and says "Them! stay away ..." It is at that time that America will cease to be honorable.

Senator Obama, when asked by the people, "who took our jobs?" pointed to Mexico and said "THEM!" Cindy Sheehan says, when asked who killed her baby boy, "THEM!" never thinking that "THEM!" were pointing at her son carrying a gun in our village and shouting "THEM!" And Michael Moore, worried about the state of our medical institution, points his finger when asked, "Why are we suffering?" and accuses "THEM!" of causing it. He is forgetting the addage, if you point a finger at another three more are pointing back at you. "THEM!" did not create our system, "WE!" did.

A true story:

A small child was standing in the middle of the road in the center of a small town in Iraq. She stood there alone as an American patrol was speeding towards her. She did not move. If you were the commander of that platoon what would you have done? It would be incredibly dangerous to stop.
He stopped. Behind that child perhaps five feet was a road bomb. The child knew it. She risked her life to save THEM! What would you do?


True world peace can only come, when we erase all borders and, sharing everything, live for the sake of others.