LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

We should not need an enemy to unite us

John Henry Melancon, Las Vegas

Thursday, Oct. 8, 2009 | 2:01 a.m.

A commentary by Gregory Rodriguez in Monday’s Los Angeles Times argues that the United States needs the threat of a “common enemy” to bring us together.

There is evidence in our recent history that such an obsession can blind us rather than unite us.

In the weeks following the 9/11 attacks, there was a sense of national unity. Along with the emotions that poured out as the president stood in the rubble, for some, a consensus was forming that past policies in the Middle East and South Asia had failed; that, with our allies, we must quickly address issues of global security; that we should work to strengthen America from within.

With the country distracted by shock and grief, some within the executive branch began a specious marketing campaign. A few desperate terrorists, whose murderous acts succeeded only because of known weaknesses in airline security, were heralded as a threat to our very way of life, and falsely connected in public pronouncements with the secular regime in Baghdad in particular, and Islam in general.

Rather than quietly finding and destroying al-Qaida, our leaders turned the terrorists into superstars of evil. Under the wheels of the “war on terror,” the emerging consensus was crushed. The U.S. inevitably turned back to the failed policies of the past, and toward the terrible and largely unilateral decisions that led to the useless bloodshed that still defines our occupation of Iraq, the dead-end quagmire that awaits us in Afghanistan, and the specter of war without end.

Today, we have many serious challenges that should unite us in common purpose. Obviously, this focus on “enemies” has brought not unity, but a debilitating polarization. And with the fear of Osama bin Laden waning, the reactionary media pounds out a different drumbeat — that the new “enemy” is your senator, your president, your fellow American.

Unless we reject that insanity, we will be doomed to continuing dissension and paralysis. I pray that we do not choose that bleak future.

Discussion: 11 comments so far…

By POWERPLAY

10/8/09 at 4:10 a.m.

Suggest removal

This country will never be united by anything because the people here are from around 200 different nationalities and 5 major religions and we do not have common goals like a more homogenize society would have. Multicultural societys do not last and will eventually fail! Whats left after that are societys that never change much and stick with what they do best and that is just being themselfs. These countrys want are economic success but not are freedoms for there own people.
By Birdiedreamin

10/8/09 at 5:28 a.m.

Suggest removal

what the hell are you talking about...
we have a common enemy...
the stupid pathetic republican liars...
with their fear mongering...
and lying...
and nay saying...
and selfishness...
and childish behavior...
and hatred...
and arrogance...
and radicalism...
make no mistake skippy...
the enemy is the stupid pathetic lying republican party...
period!!!
end of story!!!
By Birdiedreamin

10/8/09 at 5:57 a.m.

Suggest removal

there can be no doubt whatsoever that the divisiveness was originally caused by w the liar loser scum bag clown...
this little maggot fractured the country...
this cock-a-roach started a war based on lies...
a war that has cost over 4,000 americans their lives...
a war the will cost over $2 trillion when all is said and done...
and cheney the evil doer...
i consider this maggot the greatest misjudgment in character i have ever made...
there will be a special place in hell for those 2 maggots...
so...
that is the starting point...
add to that the following blowhards...
rushbo the drug addict...
beck the psychotic...
cluster fox the propaganda network...
and the atmosphere becomes toxic...
add in the republican base...
and their phoney religious righteousness...
and sarah palin...
and you get combustion...
boom!!!
so make no mistake skippy...
the enemey is the stupid pathetic lying republican party...
period...
end of story...
read this article by brooks...
a card carrying memeber of the stupid pathetic lying republican party...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/02/opinio...
By neiman1

10/8/09 at 6:12 a.m.

Suggest removal

We don't need an enemy to unite us except for the evil bankers, the evil corporations, the evil white man, the evil guy that has more than me, the evil capitalist society that made me quit school at 16 and made me do drugs.

We always need an enemy to unite some people, they just aren't always overseas.
By Sunlizard

10/8/09 at 8:20 a.m.

Suggest removal

We have Washgington D.C. politicians. They put on either a conservative mask or a liberal mask. Obama is doing nothing different than Bush when it comes to war. Both of these men are cowards. They send American soldiers (to their death) to kill innocent people on the soils of other nations for political reasons. Neither of these losers had the guts to serve their country and know what the horrors of war really are. We can blame Bush all we want but that is living in the past. Two years ago, it was appropriate to bash Mr. Bush and his group of cowards. Now we need to spotlight Obama and the horrible acts he is committing.
By TT

10/8/09 at 8:52 a.m.

Suggest removal

I agree with neiman1, he has a point; this horrible capitalistic system is ruining lives. We should have communism to control our actions so that we don't have to take responsibility for the ludicrous things we do.

In a perfect world, the people would not need a common enemy to unite them; we would understand that we are the uniting force.We should have a common purpose rather then a common enemy, that purpose being that we acknowledge that we are responsible for the things that happen in this country; because each of us hold the power of the government in our votes and political involvement.

We are ultimately involved with what happens, we write to our congressmen and women and tell them what the people want. If we don't do this and we sit and complain about things, just saying that it is the other parties fault, we are drawing our country apart.
By hss46

10/8/09 at 9:08 a.m.

Suggest removal

The problem isn't the politicians, the problem is us! We elect them. We believe the lies they spin because we are too lazy to think for ourselves, to question, to learn, to analyze. Until there is an electorate that thinks, there will be a government of politicians that give us sound bites that speak to our prejudices instead of facts and analyses that speak to our reason. We can blame THEM all we want but that merely takes our eye of the ball.
By jlb101

10/8/09 at 9:19 a.m.

Suggest removal

We do have a common enemy. It is the government. Government is the most vile, dispicable, corrupt, and most hated thing the Devil has ever created.
By jlb101

10/8/09 at 9:23 a.m.

Suggest removal

hss46-The game is rigged. We don't have a choice. We need an option of "none of the above" on all election ballots. If that wins, the office will remain vacant for the next term. Can you imagine having a little freedom for a change.
By LarryVegas

10/8/09 at 10:41 a.m.

Suggest removal

We don't need an enemy to unite us, we have the Obama administration. A real change that we could not believe in...
By Martel

10/8/09 at 1:19 p.m.

Suggest removal

If everyone on Birdie's hate list banded together, we could elect him our common enemy.
It would be pretty massive group.