You're either with us, or against us
Encyclopedia
The phrase "you're either with us, or against us" and similar variations are used to depict situations as being polarized
and to force witness
es and bystander
s to become allies
or lose favor. The implied consequence of not joining the team effort is to be deemed an enemy.
or a false dilemma
, which is an informal fallacy
; however, it may also serve merely as a descriptive statement identifying the beliefs of the speaker(s), and thus state a basic assumption and not a logical conclusion. It may also be interpreted as a speech act
.
Some see the statement as a way of persuading others to choose sides in a conflict which does not afford the luxury of neutrality
. Only when there is absolutely no middle ground
or additional alternatives does the phrase hold validity as a logical conclusion. The phrases are a form of argumentation.
Polarization (politics)
In politics, polarization is the process by which the public opinion divides and goes to the extremes. It can also refer to when the extreme factions of a political party gain dominance in a party. In either case moderate voices often lose power and influence as a consequence.-Definitions of...
and to force witness
Witness
A witness is someone who has firsthand knowledge about an event, or in the criminal justice systems usually a crime, through his or her senses and can help certify important considerations about the crime or event. A witness who has seen the event first hand is known as an eyewitness...
es and bystander
Bystander
A bystander a person who, although present at some event, does not take part in it; an observer or spectator.*Bystander effect, a social psychological phenomenon wherein individuals do not offer help in an emergency situation when other people are present...
s to become allies
Allies
In everyday English usage, allies are people, groups, or nations that have joined together in an association for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out between them...
or lose favor. The implied consequence of not joining the team effort is to be deemed an enemy.
Background
The statement can sometimes be interpreted as a splittingSplitting (psychology)
Splitting may mean two things: splitting of the mind, and splitting of mental concepts . The latter is thinking purely in extremes Splitting (also called all-or-nothing thinking in cognitive distortion) may mean two things: splitting of the mind, and splitting of mental concepts (or black and...
or a false dilemma
False dilemma
A false dilemma is a type of logical fallacy that involves a situation in which only two alternatives are considered, when in fact there are additional options...
, which is an informal fallacy
Informal fallacy
An informal fallacy is an argument whose stated premises fail to support their proposed conclusion. The deviation in an informal fallacy often stems from a flaw in the path of reasoning that links the premises to the conclusion...
; however, it may also serve merely as a descriptive statement identifying the beliefs of the speaker(s), and thus state a basic assumption and not a logical conclusion. It may also be interpreted as a speech act
Speech act
Speech Act is a technical term in linguistics and the philosophy of language. The contemporary use of the term goes back to John L. Austin's doctrine of locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary acts...
.
Some see the statement as a way of persuading others to choose sides in a conflict which does not afford the luxury of neutrality
Neutral country
A neutral power in a particular war is a sovereign state which declares itself to be neutral towards the belligerents. A non-belligerent state does not need to be neutral. The rights and duties of a neutral power are defined in Sections 5 and 13 of the Hague Convention of 1907...
. Only when there is absolutely no middle ground
Middle ground
Argument to moderation is a logical fallacy which asserts that given two positions there exists a compromise between them which must be correct.An individual demonstrating the false compromise fallacy implies that the positions...
or additional alternatives does the phrase hold validity as a logical conclusion. The phrases are a form of argumentation.
Historical quotations
- JesusJesusJesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
is reported to have said, "He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad." - Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, in a speech discussing the Chief Committee for Political Education, told the assembled delegates that "It is with absolute frankness that we speak of this struggle of the proletariat; each man must choose between joining our side or the other side. Any attempt to avoid taking sides in this issue must end in fiasco."
- George OrwellGeorge OrwellEric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
wrote in his 1942 essay "Pacifism and the War", "If you hamper the war effort of one side you automatically help that of the other. Nor is there any real way of remaining outside such a war as the present one. In practice, ‘he that is not with me is against me’. The idea that you can somehow remain aloof from and superior to the struggle, while living on food which British sailors have to risk their lives to bring you, is a bourgeois illusion bred of money and security." - Benito MussoliniBenito MussoliniBenito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
declared in speeches across fascist Italy: "O con noi o contro di noi"--You're either with us or against us. - Hillary Clinton said on September 13, 2001: "Every nation has to either be with us, or against us. Those who harbor terrorists, or who finance them, are going to pay a price."
- President George W. BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, in an address to a joint session of Congress on September 20, 2001 said, "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists." This attitude is often qualified of a prime example of Manicheanism.
In literature and popular culture
- In the movie Beauty and the BeastBeauty and the Beast (1991 film)Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the third film of the Disney Renaissance period...
, Gaston tells fellow citizens of his village that "If you're not with us, you're against us," and thereafter locks up Belle and her father so he can hunt the Beast. - In the Dirty HarryDirty HarryDirty Harry is a 1971 American crime thriller produced and directed by Don Siegel, the first in the Dirty Harry series. Clint Eastwood plays the title role, in his first outing as San Francisco Police Department Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan....
movie Magnum ForceMagnum ForceMagnum Force is a 1973 American police thriller film and the second to feature Clint Eastwood as maverick cop Harry Callahan after the 1971 film Dirty Harry. Ted Post, who also directed Eastwood in TV's Rawhide and the feature film Hang 'Em High, directed the second film in the Dirty Harry series...
, one of the suspects tells Harry Callahan, "Either you're for us or you're against us." - In the climaxClimax (narrative)The Climax is the point in the story where the main character's point of view changes, or the most exciting/action filled part of the story. It also known has the main turning point in the story...
of the filmFilmA film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the SithStar Wars Episode III: Revenge of the SithStar Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith is a 2005 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the sixth and final film released in the Star Wars saga and the third in terms of the series' internal chronology....
, Darth VaderDarth VaderDarth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....
says to Obi-Wan KenobiObi-Wan KenobiObi-Wan Kenobi is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He is one of several primary characters in the Star Wars series. Along with Darth Vader, R2-D2, and C-3PO, he is one of the few major characters to appear in all six Star Wars films...
, "If you're not with me, then you're my enemy." Obi-Wan responds, "Only a SithSith-Sith:The Sith is a name applied to certain characters in the Star Wars universe. In the films they are the central antagonists. They are capable of using the dark side of the Force.-The Invention of the Sith:...
deals in absolutes." - Towards the end of Joseph HellerJoseph HellerJoseph Heller was a US satirical novelist, short story writer, and playwright. His best known work is Catch-22, a novel about US servicemen during World War II...
's Catch-22Catch-22Catch-22 is a satirical, historical novel by the American author Joseph Heller. He began writing it in 1953, and the novel was first published in 1961. It is set during World War II in 1943 and is frequently cited as one of the great literary works of the twentieth century...
, Colonels Korn and Cathcart equate fighting for their country with fighting for the benefit of the two of them. Korn tells the protagonist Yossarian: "You're either for us or against your country. It's as simple as that." A reviewer of Catch-22 found this "flawless" logical indulgence by the commanding colonels to be comparable to Heller's parody of Charles Erwin WilsonCharles Erwin WilsonCharles Erwin Wilson , American businessman and politician, was United States Secretary of Defense from 1953 to 1957 under President Eisenhower. Known as "Engine Charlie", he previously worked as CEO for General Motors. In the wake of the Korean War, he cut the defense budget significantly.-Early...
's statement, often paraphrased as, "What's good for General Motors is good for the country". - In a 1912 edition of John Bull's Other IslandJohn Bull's Other IslandJohn Bull's Other Island is a comedy about Ireland, written by G. Bernard Shaw in 1904. Shaw himself was born in Dublin, yet this is the only play of his where he thematically returned to his homeland....
by George Bernard ShawGeorge Bernard ShawGeorge Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
, an advertisement for The ClarionThe ClarionThe Clarion was a weekly newspaper published by Robert Blatchford, based in the United Kingdom. It was a socialist publication though adopting a British-focused rather than internationalist perspective on political affairs, as seen in its support of the British involvement in the Anglo-Boer Wars...
, a socialist newspaper, used the phrase to attract those interested in the debate on socialismSocialismSocialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
. - In the movie Ben-HurBen-Hur (1959 film)Ben-Hur is a 1959 American epic film directed by William Wyler and starring Charlton Heston in the title role, the third film adaptation of Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. The screenplay was written by Karl Tunberg, Gore Vidal, and Christopher Fry. The score was composed by...
, the protagonist meets with his childhood friend Messala. He has barely said hello to Ben-Hur when he is dunning him for the names of those Jews who are speaking out against the Roman occupation. Ben-Hur refuses to act as informer, and Messala utters, "You're either with me or against me". - In Act III of Arthur Miller's The CrucibleThe CrucibleThe Crucible is a 1952 play by the American playwright Arthur Miller. It is a dramatization of the Salem witch trials that took place in the Province of Massachusetts Bay during 1692 and 1693. Miller wrote the play as an allegory of McCarthyism, when the US government blacklisted accused communists...
, Deputy Governor John Danforth states, "But you must understand, sir, that a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there is no road between." - A professional wrestling faction in the WWE known as the NexusNexus (professional wrestling)The Nexus was a villainous professional wrestling stable in the professional wrestling promotion, WWE, that competed on its Raw brand. The group originally consisted of all eight rookies of NXT season one and shifted their roster several times throughout their existence...
uses the slogan "You're either Nexus, or you're against us" - Stephen ColbertStephen ColbertStephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an...
has parodied the sentence on several occasions, for instance with "Either you are for the war [in Iraq] or you hate America" and "George W. Bush: great president or the greatest president?", after which he usually adds "It's that simple!"
Further reading
- Ajami, Fouad. "With Us or Against Us," New York Times Book Review 156.53817 (1/7/2007): 14-15.
- Bethune, Brian. "Are You With Us or Against Us?" in Maclean's 119.45 (11/13/2006): 21.
- "For us, or against us?" in Economist 376.8444 (9/17/2005): 44.
- Seymour, Richard. "With us or against us--Iran talks tough," Middle East 364 (Feb2006): 18-19.
- Singh, Anita Inder. "With Us or Against Us," World Today 61.8/9 (Aug/Sep2005): 25.
- "With us or against us," Economist 385.8555 (11/17/2007): 42.
- "You're Either With Us or Against Us," Maclean's 121.6 (3/10/2008): 23-29.