On a vacation trip to Washington DC, my family visited the National Archives to see the original copy of the Constitution. It was not that memorable. However, in another part of the building, the Archives had an exhibit of WW II posters that had been displayed to encourage people to support the war effort against Germany and Japan. This was memorable.
Many of us have seen ‘Uncle Sam’ pointing his finger at us seriously with the caption, “I Want You for the US Army.” His eyes seem to follow you wherever you go. Creepy. Then there is the woman showing her biceps. “We Can Do It”. Kind of Sexy. What I had never seen were the posters reminding the American people to never let their guard down. The artwork was amazing, but I found it most disturbing. The Japanese especially were caricatured as rats with elongated noses and little round glasses carrying bayonets or as gorillas with massive heads and huge teeth, Captions read, “This is the Enemy” or “They’re Coming Here.” Nobody cares about rats. In fact, most people want rats exterminated. Dehumanize the enemy and there is no remorse about killing them and no second thoughts about incinerating them.
Jesus’ teaching about loving our enemies (Matthew 5:43ff) challenges the act of dehumanization. Our enemies are people too. How easy it is to forget that simple and obvious truth. How easy it is to internalize the propaganda and live it out.
Tongue on Fire 