The “Us vs Them” mentality has a stranglehold on our society. Humans tend to view the group they belong to, whether ethnically, religiously, socioeconomically, or other, as being the center to which all other groups are measured against, and as a result we seem to constantly be at each other’s throats. We see this trend all the time in politics, war, and even in completely trivial matters such as sports. There is something innate to the human psyche in the desire to see our people “win” and finding joy in seeing those opposite us worse off. All of which makes the mentality of Dr. Martin Luther King – one of love, forgiveness and equality – all the more impressive.
Two sections from our readings really stood out to me in regards to Dr. King’s steadfast commitment to non-violence. In The Power of Nonviolence, Dr. King states “love the person who does the evil deed while hating the deed the person does.” In late 1950s and 1960s America, a period ripe with tension, possessing this mentality of loving those who hate and spite you, while belonging to a group that had suffered under systematic racism for centuries, in a state that set dogs loose on peaceful protestors, and where the governor believed in “segregation now, segregation tomorrow and segregation forever” seems unbelievable. However, Dr. King backed up his words in the most powerful way. After a woman plunged a blade to within an inch of his life, not only did Dr. King forgive and pray for the woman, but he deepened his faith in non-violence.
America in the 1950s and 60s may have been an inch of blade away from being much more violent than it was. Today, it seems like the never-ending Us vs Them mentality keeps us an inch away from conflict at all times. We’ve already seen it in the myriad of senseless killings of unarmed black men and women. We continue to see it in today’s political landscape, which often feels more like a Colosseum fight to the death than a productive discourse. What I find most upsetting is that, like Dr. King says regarding the black population, we can be so much stronger and achieve so much more if we all come together and pool our strengths. The Us vs Them mentality not only places our society on a constant edge, but it prevents us from moving forward. As long as we continue to worry about our differences, we won’t achieve greater good for all.
This “Us vs. them” mentality is very difficult distinction to make. On one hand, it is necessary to express your anger towards issues with other people, but it is also important to consider the ramifications of creating a divide among people. MLK preached a message of white boys and black girls playing together and it seems that our society has created a divide and a separation among our population. Even if we create change, a divide among the population of the people in the United States could be catastrophic. I think that overall, everyone working together to find love and understanding will create the best version of a society that we can have.
I think that the “us vs. them” is a very unfortunate part of human nature, but, sadly, I do not think humans will ever overcome this instinct. The very foundations of our society are based in division. Instead of all living together as one world, humans have divided ourselves into different nations, fighting over land, resources, and power. People find so much unity in having a common enemy. I genuinely hope that in the United States today, we can all unite against the common enemies of injustice and violence. It will take a lot of compassion and self-sacrifice from individuals for the greater good, but I hope that the senseless killings and harsh political warfare prove to be a powerful enough enemy to unite us all.