Enemy

For example, "in early Iroquois legend, the Sun and Moon, as god and goddess of Day and Night, had already acquired the characters of the great friend and enemy of man, the Good and Evil Deity".

"The enemy," as the object of social anger or repulsion, has throughout history been used as the prototypical propaganda tool to focus the fear and anxiety within a society toward a particular target.

During the Cold War, the terms "Communists" or "Reds" were believed by many in American society to mean "the enemy," and the meaning of the two terms could be extremely pejorative, depending on the political context, mood, or state of fear and agitation within the society at the time.

There are many terms and phrases that allude to overlooking or failing to notice an enemy, such as Trojan horse or wolf in sheep's clothing.

[9][10] Irrational approaches may extend to treating impersonal phenomena not merely as conceptual enemies, but as sentient actors intentionally bringing strife to the sufferer.

This can be achieved by: Personal conflicts are frequently either unexamined (one's goals are not well defined) or examined only from one point of view.

[12] It contends that the teaching of the Bible, Talmud, and other writings, "gradually educates the people toward the latter stage",[12] stating that "indications in the Bible of a spirit of hatred and vengeance toward the enemy... are for the most part purely nationalistic expressions—hatred of the national enemy being quite compatible with an otherwise kindly spirit".

[13] It is therefore widely expressed in world religions that enemies should be treated with love, kindness, compassion, and forgiveness.

[12] The concept of Ahimsa, found in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism, also captures this sentiment, requiring kindness and non-violence towards all living things on the basis that they all are connected.

Indian leader Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi strongly believed in this principle, stating that "[t]o one who follows this doctrine there is no room for an enemy".

Methodist writer Joseph Benson notes from this text that this enemy, death, "continues, in some measure, to hold the subjects of Christ under his dominion" until the end.