A wild proliferation of enemies

We are isolated and diminished by our beliefs. Let’s say I believe that I am a good man. Straightaway I have a problem. Every time I turn around, I see a bad man.

Men in militias

Do the means justify the end? Here again is ego’s bent tendency to divide and militarize. The fact is, cause and effect are not separate. In every case, the means are the end.

Patriot love

If I am ready at a moment’s notice to blow your head off, I hate myself. Military veterans kill themselves twice as often as civilians. Doctors frequently cite PTSD. But this is misleading.

Dr. Strangelove

Counter-phobic fear—fear that looks like anger but isn’t—needs enemies to rationalize its own existence. When enemies are needed, enemies are everywhere. Sometimes a whole country is our enemy. Nation-scaled enemies goose our economies. It costs US$3 million to build a Patriot Missile.

Splitting myself

Ego works like Facebook does, on a like/dislike basis. The problem with this is that everything I see represents an aspect of myself. What I like, I own. What I dislike, I disown.