In general warfare, it is easy to identify the enemy if he is without, that is. He fights in uniform and under a banner. It is much harder to identify and fight an enemy within, that is, an enemy that lives within our own borders and is not recognized by uniform or banner. Today we are fighting such an enemy, that is, an enemy within our own country. Who is he? What is his purpose? What are his weapons, the means with which he fights?
It might be somewhat comforting to look at the present situation in the way described above. However, there is another ‘enemy within,’ a more dangerous enemy! It is the enemy within ourselves. We all have an enemy within, who we hopefully have been taught how to overcome. This enemy has many faces and fights with different weapons. He sneaks up on us at times, and we don’t recognize him until it is too late. At times we don’t even realize that he has taken over and is destroying us. Examples are many as people with addictions show us.
It is a known fact that unless you recognize the enemy, you cannot overcome him. This holds true for any enemy without, as well as for the personal enemy within, the societal enemy within as well as the national enemy within. Unless we recognize the addiction, which has become our enemy, we shall never overcome him.
Let us be honest about our addiction, our enemy within. Let us stand up and say: “My name is …- and I’m a racist!”
Jake Hjorth, Grand Marais
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