Sun Tzu – The Art of War
Bamboo Book
University of California, Riverside

In light of the current political shenanigans, pipelines, shootings, women and gender inequality, and immigrant hate, I got to thinking. Why can’t we all just get along?

The old saying goes, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.”  And whether it was Sun Tzu, or Niccolò Machiavelli that the saying originated from, I wonder why do we have to have enemies?

Well, I think I found the answer.

A Letter from “The Enemy”

Dear society,

I am your villain, your enemy, the Boogie Man. I and Satan himself. I am the “devil” from another country here to take your jobs, I am the politician with the hair-do you hate. I am religion, or lack thereof, in its many varied forms.

I am woman. I am man.

I am “The Man” that Orwell alluded to.

I am your boss, your coworkers, lend me some sugar, I am your neighbour.

But do you know who else I am? Of course you do. I am your parents with their strict rules, your wife/ husband in all their failings, even your children in their petulance.

And you, over the course of your life, will inevitably be someone else’s version of me. But do you know who I will never be?

You.

See, because we are so close I feel I can impart this little secret. You need me. As much as you all call for peace, your individual versions of peace are not the same and in that difference I live. Scratch that, I thrive. Don’t get me wrong, there are those among you that could probably live without me, but most of you? Yeah, you need me.

And here is my second little secret. You need me because who else would you have to blame your own failings on? Yourself? HAHAHAHA! That’s rich. Nice try, though.

No, without me you’d have to own up to your mistakes; to your close minded actions. You concoct me out of thin air and use me to label those you don’t, or rather, refuse to understand because they aren’t you.

As long as there is difference of opinion, I’ll be there. As long as you let others dictate how you should think, I’ll be there. As long as you let common sense and decency take a back seat to monetary gain, I’ll be there.

To be honest, I don’t like me but you know something else? I like you even less.

You made me. And for that I can never forgive you.

Yours forever,

The Enemy.

Well, there you have it folks. Straight from the horse’s mouth, as it were.

As always, keep your pen on the page and your head in the clouds. We need those words, that whimsy, to carry us away from time to time. They open our minds and that openness is needed now, more than ever before.

Yours in peace and goodwill,

Dale.