Thomas Wolfe wrote of war making the world safe for hypocrisy. War heightens our sense of the artificial distinction between the good guys and the bad guys. IN patriotic frenzy, we lose sight of the fact that the enemy is made up of other human beings with whom we disagree. We forget that this decade’s foe may be the next one’s friend.
In passionate personal arguments, we sometimes experience the same sort of fantasied transformations. We can share friendship for years, but in the midst of a rage-filled conflict, it’s easy to lose sight of all the good feelings we’ve had and might yet have again with this momentary opponent who has now become a monster in our own angelic eyes.
A weapon may have an innocent victim at each end.