Divide and conquer: Who benefits from Americans’ political fights?

A farmer, tired of rats destroying his crops and stealing his grain, came up with a clever but cruel plan. He threw a dead pig into a deep, abandoned well. Attracted by the smell, nearly 80 rats rushed into the well to feast on the carcass. At first, everything seemed wonderful. There was more than enough food for everyone, and the rats ate until they were satisfied.

But when the food was gone, they discovered something terrifying. The walls of the well were too steep to climb. They were trapped. Days passed, and hunger turned into desperation. Desperation turned into aggression. The rats that had once eaten peacefully beside one another began fighting for survival. Eventually, they began killing and eating each other.

One by one, their numbers dwindled until only a single rat remained. Its eyes were bloodshot, and it had survived by consuming its own kind. Then the farmer returned, lowered a rope into the well, and rescued the last surviving rat. But he didn’t save it out of kindness or compassion.

The farmer knew the rat had learned to survive by hunting other rats. When he released it into his fields, it would continue killing its own kind instead of eating his grain. The farmer had turned his enemy into his greatest weapon.

And that is the lesson of divide and conquer. Those who control the trap don’t need to fight the battles themselves. They simply create the conditions in which others turn against one another.

The rats believed their enemies were the other rats. They never realized that the true enemy was the farmer who had put them there.

The greatest danger isn’t always the enemy standing in front of you. Sometimes it’s the one who created the conflict and stands quietly watching you destroy each other.

Before you turn against your neighbor because of their political beliefs, ask yourself who benefits from keeping Americans divided. While we fight each other over Republican and Democrat, we may be overlooking those who profit from the conflict. Perhaps the real question isn’t which side you’re on, but who built the well—and why they want us fighting at the bottom of it.

Editor’s note: This article is shared to provoke thought and discussion. Readers may agree or disagree with its message, but we hope it encourages reflection on how political division affects our communities and who may benefit from it.