The Great Thing About Having Enemies

Enemies give us certainty — but also blind us to truth. This reflection asks what happens when outrage replaces care, and moralism replaces freedom.

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Mar 29, 2025

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I’ve been thinking a lot about the psychology of extremism, especially as public discourse keeps collapsing into fits of moral certainty and outrage rituals. This satirical bit by John Cleese—delivered decades ago—is unnervingly timeless:

“If you have a lot of anger and resentment in you anyway… then you can pretend you’re only doing it because your enemies are such very bad persons.”

Cleese, often criticized these days as just a reactionary critic of “wokeness,” was also someone who could skewer the self-righteousness of all ideological extremes—left, right, and the self-declared center.

In this clip, he’s not dismissing justice or reform. He’s calling out what happens when we mistake moralism for morality—when critique becomes a substitute for care, and performance replaces practice.

Freedom is a practice. So is humility.

And neither thrive on lists of enemies.

Of course, there are real lines. White nationalism and authoritarianism aren’t just “another opinion”—they’re threats to freedom itself. But even then, it matters how we respond. Not with spectacle or self-righteous swagger—but with clarity, strategy, and memory.

Curious what the bit stirs up for others—What stands out to you? What do you agree with… or push back on? Feel free to share in the comments.

Torch & Tinder

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