Words Less Spoken

We fight to stay alive
But somebody’s got to die
It’s so strange to me
A new year, a new enemy
Another soldier gone to war
Another story told before
Now it’s told again
It seems the wars will never end
~ from “Coming Home” by John Legend

A few days ago an old friend and I were catching up. He told me that his brother-in-law narrowly escaped death twice during two tours of duty in Iraq. He is hoping that grad school will keep him stateside long enough for the war to end. With tongue in cheek I said that by the time he graduates we’ll probably be at war with Iran. My friend likened the “axis of evil” declaration to a big kid announcing to the whole playground that he’s coming for you. If you didn’t have a problem with him before, you sure as hell do after that.

It seems a matter of political expediency to name new enemies, especially near an election. Saber rattling is a proven means of rallying the base and scaring the hell out of everybody, but what does it say about us as a people that we are so easily drawn in by the lure of hatred? Do we have some inate need to be against something? Gone are the days when leaders summoned the collective will of the nation by a compelling vision that inspired us to be better than we are. Now they just pick a new target.