Dehumanizing the Enemy During War

Playground Rules Two small children are playing in the sandbox together. One boy wants to dig in the sand while the other boy wants to play with the truck and pretend there is some sort of story related to the small, toy truck. Both boys are very stubborn, and being so small, they are each adamant in their decision and do not change their mind. They each go about playing their own game, hoping that the other will soon abandon their idea of playing in the sandbox and play with them. Soon the boy with the truck is moving the truck on the sand and sand begins to fill the other boy’s dug hole. Tension rises and the boy digging the hole pushes the other boy. Soon they are both pushing each other and fighting to the best of what toddlers can do. Their respective mothers pick up the child belonging to them and end the small war. Although at an extremely basic scale, this is essentially how war begins in the world we live in today. Neighboring countries begin to dispute and attempt to influence the other country to join their ideology of living life. If the other country resists, a war may be initiated. The attacking country may feel as what they are doing is right while the defending country may feel obligated to protect their home territory. Nonetheless, wars start and the primary reason they begin is because opposing forces believe what they are doing is the right thing- destroying the enemy. Many people soon imagine the enemy as a lower- type of animal in order to dehumanize the enemy to attack the enemy and shoot at him/her. In the video, “Faces of the Enemy,” Doctor John Dower even claims that “Psychologically, this process of dehumanization facilitates killing.” People must first visualize their enemy as an enemy and not a human being. Within the same video, Sam Keen States, “Before we make a weapon for war, we make an image of the enemy. First, we think each other to death.” The mind is a powerful tool and people use that enforce their way of thinking upon

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