On Tuesday, September 30, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the President called American military leaders together for a one-of-a-kind meeting. Hegseth started off decrying “woke” policies within the military and castigating officers who were overweight. He stressed that he wanted them to see their roles not as defenders but as warriors. He was then followed by the President, who called them to fight “the enemy within,” referring to individuals and organizations that were opposed and seeking to undermine his decision to send troops into cities headed by Democratic mayors and governors. He even suggested that soldiers should go into these cities as a “training ground” for greater battles elsewhere. Since then, he has sought to send forces into Chicago and then Portland, Oregon.

There are so many things wrong with this action called for by the President, constitutionally, ethically, and legally, but the thing that stood out to me was his use of the word “enemy.” Timothy Snyder in his book On Tyranny says in Step 17 “Listen for Dangerous Words.” He has used phrases like “the Radical Left” and “extremists” to describe those who oppose his policies and his way of governing. But now he is calling people like me an “enemy.”

I consider myself in his enemy camp not only because I am quite critical of the president’s policies and actions (like sending the National Guard into U.S. cities), but also because of the actions I am involved with and the organizations that I financially support. Mennonite pastor and scholar Melissa Florer-Bixler addresses this issue in her book, How to Have an Enemy. She begins by pointing out that for BIPOC persons, the United States has always been a hostile place. Black parents give their children “the talk,” which has to do with how you behave when questioned or stopped by a police officer. African American and Hispanic young people are often assumed to be guilty just for being on the street, rather than being given the benefit of the doubt that our criminal code requires. These days, undocumented migrants and even immigrants who are U.S. citizens live in fear of ICE officers who storm buildings, schools, and workplaces and arrest people with no warrants or proofs that people are actually guilty.

What makes the current fixation on enemies so hideous is that the National Guard troops are granted power to act as they do by the Federal government, the government Abraham Lincoln said is called to serve the people not arrest, harass, and vilify them. Florer-Bixler says that “the language of enemies [is used] to describe a relationship between people, one that recognizes how a person uses their power, actively or passively, to harm and dominate another.” (p. 28). As a white, cisgendered, middle-class male, I have never personally experienced a serious threat being issued by the government against me for what I believe, what I think about certain policies, and how I take action against that which I think is unjust against me and others. I have been reminded by my friends of color that while this may be a new experience for me, it is a common experience for BIPOC folks and immigrants, documented or not. This is not to dismiss my concern, but rather to realize I am experiencing something common to historically oppressed persons.

Timothy Snyder points out, “Dissidents of the twentieth century, whether they were resisting fascism or communism, were called extremists.” Today, Trump calls them terrorists, radicals, and enemies. While I don’t espouse violence, I do stand with those who oppose ICE raids in the middle of the night. I abhor military troops being called out for a task they are not equipped and trained to handle, and I choose to stand against the threats of people like Steve Miller and the President and not be cowed by their angry threats.  I will continue to support those organizations that the President wants to drag down, organizations that actively work to strengthen and support those facing the most direct violence from government officers. And I will continue to find ways to join hands with my immigrant and BIPOC  siblings to turn back and resist the threats so callously expressed by the President. Mr. Trump you want enemies, you got them!

Sources

Melissa Florer-Bixler,  How to Have An Enemy: Righteous Anger and the Work of Peace, Herald Press: Harrisonburg, VA. 2021

Timothy Snyder, On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From the Twentieth Century. New York: Crown, an Imprint of Random House, 2017.

∞ The picture comes from Creative Commons