24. Us and Them

From The Greater Common Good by P. Sohail & R. Iftikar (Suggested Reading, Party Politics, Paper IV – Ideology, Blindness and Righteousness)

The Us and Them Concept  is fundamental to politics of any kind. Any political worker – new recruit or seasoned – should do well to memorize the basic differences between ‘us’ and ‘them’ as tabulated below:

Us	Them
1. We think about the poor. 2. We are the victims of violence unleashed by Them. 3. We have appeared as the saving grace for the people. 4. People love us spontaneously. 5. We are right. 6. We symbolize progress. 7. We have some colour. 8. We have an enigmatic and charismatic leader at the front. 9. We are good because our hallowed leader guides us.	1. They try to please the rich. 2. They are the perpetrators of the said violence. 3. They are a threat to the population.  4. People oppose them collectively. 5. They are wrong. 6. They symbolize corruption. 7. They have some other colour. 8. They have a corrupt and despotic leader at the front. 9. They are bad because they follow their misguided leader.