Making Enemies

If you treat people as enemies rather than as people, declaring them to be enemies, to be evil and not worthy of the rights of people, if you declare and wage war against them and use aggressive violence against them and oppress them and give them no choice but to be enemies, then you make them into enemies, whether they were enemies or not.

While, through war and violence, you may gain short term tactical advantages, the enemies you make will, in the longer term, be a heavy burden.

On the other hand, if you treat people as people, respect and defend their rights, defend their dignity, help them in their struggles for health and happiness and ensure that not only is justice done but that justice is seen to be done, then those good people who are your friends will be your friends and support you and some of those who are your enemies might change their attitude towards you.

There will still be some evil in everyone. It is part of human nature. It predominates in some. Treat even these people fairly and ensure that not only is justice done but that justice is seen to be done. To do otherwise promotes and perpetuates and exacerbates the evil.

There will still be people who make themselves your enemies, despite your best efforts not to deserve being treated as such. But the burden will be less, in the long run than if you, every day, make more enemies by your own initiative.

Be what you wish everyone else was.