The Enemy Within

We are the enemy in Trump's America.

by Rich Herschlag

I am the enemy within. The enemy of racism. The enemy of misogyny. Of ignorance, prejudice, and boundless unchecked pride. The enemy of xenophobia. Of disinformation, prevarication, and gaslighting.

I am the enemy of blame game politics and culture. Of the rabid aversion to looking inward. Of toxic avoidance of carefully reviewing your own thoughts and actions to determine how they helped get you into the mess you’re in today. Of the idea that you have failed to reach your own potential because someone else you happen to find vexing walks and breathes on this earth, rather than because you just got lazy. Of the absurd but powerful notion that if you could simply eliminate or jail or detain or thwart or destroy person X, your life would have turned out precisely as planned.

I am the enemy of convenience as a guiding life principle. Of the conviction that what is easy is good and what is difficult is bad. Of envy as a substitute for philosophy. Of confusing self-inflicted pain with injustice. Effort with results. Admiration with sycophancy. Fame with merit. Impatience with ambition. Love with lust. Wealth with achievement. Arrogance with confidence. Conceit with competence.

I am the enemy of consumerism. Of the belief that as long as we show up to work, put in some time, come home, eat, shit, fuck, watch Survivor, and fall asleep we have somehow fulfilled our civic duty. Of the idea that life is entirely transactional. Of the self-indulgence that claims an endless supply of cheap goods and services as a birthright. Of believing that everything except freedom has a price.

I am the enemy of book-banning. Of the certainty that in a world full of assault rifles, missiles, fists and airborne pollution the most dangerous thing is an idea—an ironically self-fulfilling prophesy. Of the hubris that says only we were born into the right religion, sect, culture, skin, sexuality, or belief system. Of the disingenuousness that says only by restricting exposure to alternative lifestyles can our own win out.

I am the enemy of moral hypocrisy. Of people banning abortion after opting for one, having a partner receive one, having a family member receive one, assisting in one, facilitating one, paying for one, and knowing deep down if the same complex situation were to arise again they would do exactly the same thing given the need, resources, and opportunity. I am the enemy of the moral hypocrisy that allows one person to purchase and carry a weapon of mass destruction into a public space but does not allow another person to make the most basic and private decision about her own body.

I am the enemy of religious hypocrisy. Of people claiming to love a two thousand year old prophet who today would be run out of their neighborhood at best and crucified at worst. Of the faux faithful who mouth the words Love thy neighbor as thyself but don’t even know who their neighbors are and don’t want to know. Who say forgive seven times and seek revenge seven-fold. Who claim the ethos of being kind to the stranger yet base their entire political agenda on scapegoating the stranger.

I am the enemy of those who prey upon the frustrated, aggrieved, and the exasperated by harnessing the most powerful and destructive of all human emotions—anger. I am the enemy of those who apply all their intelligence and savvy to tap into humankind’s worst instincts and channel them into blind rage. Of those who read the room by finding the lowest common denominator and weaponizing it. Of those who by example normalize the worst possible behavior. Of those who pretend to lift us up while dragging us down. Of those whose promises are thinly veiled threats and whose threats are thinly veiled insecurities. Of those whose self-hatred is turned outward for amusement, profit, and power.

I am the enemy of those who denigrate government just for being government. Of those who think government is nothing more than a game show whose name is Let’s Make a Deal. Of those who are sure they’re better off without it until they are one day scammed, carjacked, extorted, assaulted, or told they are without rights due to their gender, creed, or color of their skin. I am the enemy of those who don’t seem to understand that stop signs are there for them as well. Who ask not what they can do for their country but what their country can do for them. Who take for granted the millions of sacrifices made on their behalf and have zero plans to pay it forward. Of those who have arranged it so that government is the instrument of the highest bidder.

I am the enemy of homophobia, transphobia, and toxic masculinity. Of Citizens United, super PACS, and tax codes written by the rich for the rich. An enemy of anti-science, superstition, and religious oppression. Of voter suppression, intimidation, and misuse of the military against civilians.

I am the enemy within. Enemy Number One.

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