Intimate Enemy.
It might seem strange that Earthfolk talk about
intimacy in the same breath with
nuclear war.
Nuclear war seems so massively destructive
that it's hard—without seeing as a sojourning alien—to discern
what it has to do with an individual's intimacy. As we see it, nuclear
warfare is all about intimacy.
Nuclear war is intimate
warfare.
Consider that a sojourning alien looks around the Earth
and sees wars everywhere. A study of human history, the rise and fall
of civilizations, all are replete with chapters on wars—Endless
War. When researched, the stories of origin
of the major human cultures are grounded in accounts of primal
violences: wars between gods, wars between gods and humans,
and wars between humans.
Alien ears hear the language of
violence used in every contemporary arena of human endeavor:
politics of course but also as imagery for sports, business competition,
religious missionary campaigns, and personal relationships ("war
between the sexes"). It is striking to the sojourning alien that
the
individual is constantly bombarded
by
language and images that make him/her feel
like they are
someone's enemy—whether at work, in
the classroom, at play,
at prayer, as a terrorist's target at anytime, anywhere, etc.
Everywhere, someone wants to overpower you.
Beat you. Possess you. You live
in constant fear of attack. (Today
by robotic drones!)
