The 50th Law (with 50 Cent)

The group enemy: As mentioned above, our ancestors had a
reflexive fear at the sight of any outsiders to their group. This fear
easily slid into hatred. The basis for this fear may well have been real,
but the existence of rival tribes also had a positive side effect—it united
and tightened the group. It also fit in well with the way the human
brain processes information, through binary pairs of opposites—light
and dark, good and evil, us versus them. Today, in our modern
sophisticated world, you will notice this very ancient dynamic
continually at play: any group will reflexively focus on some hated
enemy, real or imagined, to help bring the tribe together. As Anton
Chekhov once noted, “Love, friendship, respect do not unite people as
much as common hatred for something.”
Since time immemorial, leaders have exploited this enemy reflex for
power, using the existence of the rival or enemy to justify almost
anything and to distract from their own shortcomings. The enemy will
be described as “amoral,” “irrational,” “untrustworthy,” or
“aggressive,” the implication being that “our” group is the opposite. No
side ever likes to admit it is not pure in its ethics, or has aggressive
intentions, or is governed by emotion—it is always the other side. In
the end, the need to feel a part of the tribe and against the other side is
more important than the actual differences, which tend to be greatly
exaggerated.
Look at the group you belong to, and you will inevitably see some
sort of enemy or bogeyman to push against. What you require is the
ability to detach yourself from this dynamic and to see the “enemy” as
it is, minus the distortions. You will not want to overtly display your
skepticism—you might be seen as disloyal. Instead, keep your mind
open so that you can resist the downward pull and overreactions that
come from such tribal emotions. Take this even a step further by
learning from the enemy, adapting some of its superior strategies.