Steve Schuster
Everybody Needs and Enemy
©2024 Stephen A Schuster
People! Take a look at one another
People! Take a look at yourselves
Fractured apart as we suffer
Dismissals in place of farewells
Discord, disorder and chaos
No way to find a way out
Counting on street-level justice
For people who don’t really count
Seems like everybody needs an enemy, someone
With whom they can always disagree, on everything
I looked in the mirror, only to see
My very worst enemy is me
Exiled inside our own homeland
Divided as we’ve ever been
Each of dies by our own hand
From hatred as deep as our skin
Seems like everybody needs an enemy, someone
With whom they can always disagree, on everything
I looked in the mirror, only to see
My very worst enemy is me
Words just as sharp as our speartips
Living like Lord of the Flies
Feels like I’m feeling the gears slip
Worn down from this evil inside
Seems like everybody needs an enemy, somebody
With whom they can always disagree, on everything
I looked in the mirror, only to see
My very worst enemy is me
"Everybody Needs an Enemy" is an angry reflection on the divisive climate of contemporary society, underscored by a lament for unity and understanding. This stadium-ready anthem portrays a world caught in an endless cycle of discord and polarization, where differing opinions are no longer a basis for dialogue but a battlefield.
The song’s stark commentary on social justice—or the lack thereof—particularly in oblique reference to George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement, serves as a grim reminder of the societal fractures that run deep in our communities and in America herself. "Everybody Needs an Enemy" doesn’t just critique; it mourns the loss of empathy and connection in an era where rancorous animosity has become normalized.
The song’s punchline, "My very worst enemy is me," confronts listeners with a mirror that challenges us to see the part we each play in perpetuating these divisions. In its bold confrontation of uncomfortable truths, it urges a reconsideration of how we view those who differ from us. It’s a call to action, a plea for self-examination and change, wrapped in a towering chorus melody that ironically invites everyone to sing along together.