Why does the U.S. always need an enemy? When the Soviet Union collapsed, the government found another enemy...

Question

Does the U.S. always need an enemy so the people will support the government? Will the government invent an enemy if there ever comes a time when we don't have one?

Answer 1

We don't have to go looking for one. Jealousy and envy motivate less successful countries like they motivate democratic voters.

Answer 2

Excuse me but Osama Bin Ladin came and attacked us, not vice versa.

Answer 3

If you mean found another enemy in radical Islam, you are mistaken. They have been attacking U.S. interests since the early '70's. Almost as many U.S. citizens died by terrorist attacks before 9/11 as died on that day. In the history of the U.S. our enemies have elected to choose us, rather than the opposite. As long as there are those that choose to do us harm, we should take them on, with our military, not with our laws, that stop at our borders.

Answer 4

Probably

Answer 5

Less a matter of need, more a matter of history happenstance. when you stand for freedom and human rights, there's always someone who wants to deny that.

Answer 6

We don't need to go around inventing enemies.  Seems like there are enough to go around already.

Do you seriously think that we welcomed the terrorist attack just to have an enemy?  If so, then it just shows how little you know about the United States, as if your question didn't already give that away.

Answer 7

Yes, the government usually has someone out there trying to get us. Sometimes they actually are a threat, but a lot of the time it's just scare tactics to distract us from domestic problems, or to unify us. it's not just the US, either.

Answer 8

Read "1984" by George Orwell for an understanding of how this works.

Answer 9

Welcome to planet earth.

We were sitting around, teaching Terrorists how to fly planes and ~~ WHAMMO! ~~

There came 9-11. I guess you believe that those nice guys made a terrible mistake.

Yeah, they made a mistake allright, they went and became our mortal enemy overnight.

Answer 10

Greetings.  amazing that every answer to this question is on the side of the new enemy.  that we didn't search for or create them.  Strange.  it is a fact that all governments that pass a stage of actually being needed always have to have a enemy in order to get the people to agree to voluntary slavery, which is what is demanded by the state during a stage of war.  Hitler invaded Europe not because he thought that Germany actually needed Europe.  But to get the German people behind him.  Herman Goring in prison during the Nurimburg trials said it is easy to create a dictatorship, all you need to do is tell the people that they have an enemy that is going to attack them and they need the dictator to protect them.  He replied that when asked why the German people let the n***s take over their country.   Here the president was in the dump with his total lack of leadership.  Was taking vacations so he was more on vacation then in the white house.  suddenly there is the 9/11 and bam, everyone without a brain is behind him.  He is still harping on 9/11 being the enemy that we need him to protect us from.  Regardless of there being no proof at all that this is the case.  Without a enemy slavering at the border to invade us, why would we need the incompetent present administration or congress and its tottally incompetent members at all?  we would not.  a government that is a sham needs a enemy to threaten the people with.  if there is no enemy, as we had none before 9/11, then the government creates one.  out of whole cloth as they used to say.  simply creates one and threatens with it.  THere are very few people in this country, other then the diehard republicans that do not realize that there was no way that Iraq could have possibly invaded or attacked us.  it is amazing the people still believe the propaganda instead of simply opening their eyes and brushing the cobwebs of propaganda away and looking at what is going on.  But then we are one of the worst educated nations in the world, so I guess it is to be expected that we would have a large number of people not capable of intelligent thought.  Willing to follow any leader who gives them a mindless course to follow.

Answer 11

You've got that right. There's always a boogeyman to keep us scared & in line. Watch for another "attack" or "foiled attack" somewhere before Bush leaves office.

Answer 12

No, the government didn't "find an enemy". There are countries such as Iran and Syria that have been our enemies for years. In 1979 Iran took hostage from our embassy and held them for over a year. This was when the Soviet Union was still in existance.

Why is it that to so many people history began on the day they were born?  Next time, try going back a few decades before that.