“You are not to be taught that you have many enemies that know not why they are so but, like village curs, bark when their fellows do.”
William Shakespeare -Henry VIII, Act II, Scene 4

‘Adjusting the Power’. That is the most basic essence of politics. The act of balancing power between two realms, the internal and the external, is what political science defines as the core of internal politics and external policy (foreign policy). The demarcation line that separates the interior from the exterior delineates ‘us’ from those beyond this boundary, the ‘other.’ This calibration entails situations where the interests of the ‘others’ are intertwined with our benefits, while at times, our concerns clash with those of ‘the other’. Consequently, the interplay between these two realms corresponds with national interests or the inner sphere.

The notion of ‘us’ without the concept of ‘other’ is utterly meaningless, so rulers sometimes highlight the spite of ‘the other’ to showcase their goodwill. This evil ‘other’ is labelled as the ‘enemy’. It may go by various names, but its portrayal resembles a dark silhouette, like the figures in target shooting ranges. “A perpetual enemy that does not exist must be invented” [1] so that war chariots keep running.

The reflective diversity of this notion within language constructs a scenario where the line between actuality and unidentifiable delusion appears as nothing more than a hazy visual or auditory impression, and seeking this truth parallels the iconic cinematic scene featuring a “Room of Mirrors” where shattering the mirrors dissolves this boundary; the distinguishing trait being that what is replicated inside the room is just another representation of itself.

[1] Filippo Tommaso Emilio Marinetti (1876-1944), Italian poet, editor, art theorist, and founder of the Futurist movement.