To be united has a history...

Unity is a complex word in a complex world. Are we united?  Are we supposed to be united?  Can we be united and divided? Can we disagree and work toward a better us (or better U.S.)? What has our history shown us? 

From Dave Andelman, “We were never “united” and we weren’t supposed to be. From MSNBC to Fox News, my mom to business associates, Americans are convinced that “we are more divided than ever.” This is nonsense. When were we so united? I defy you to name the time, other than brief periods when we were attacked, won a war, or elected a popular president.

Before we declared independence, many of us wanted to stick with good old England. Some accused George Washington, who devoted his life to fighting for our democracy, of wanting to be king. President #2 Adams and President #3 Jefferson despised each other. VP Aaron Burr shot and killed Hamilton, one of the greatest founders. Jefferson’s enemies did their best to spread word that several slaves looked exactly like Jefferson, and Hamilton’s foes claimed he stole U.S. money to buy off his mistress (dirty politics is nothing new). A lot of Americans hated John Quincy Adams, leading to the election of Andrew Jackson…who a lot of Americans hated.

There was this little incident called the Civil War; I’d say we were pretty divided at that point. After the Northern victory, women still couldn’t vote, and discrimination remained legal into the sixties. After that, outright public bigotry remained common. Many Americans vehemently opposed entering World War 1 and World War 2. FDR caged 100,000 citizens of Japanese descent. Vietnam wasn’t real smooth. When LBJ considered reentering the presidential race, security couldn’t guarantee his safety at the violent Democratic convention.

JFK, RFK, Martin Luther King were all slaughtered in the “decade of love.”

Reagan was going to start nuclear war with Russia. Bush 1 and Bush 2, like Reagan, were despised by half the country as maniacs and bigots. Obama ran on uniting the country. After eight years, the opposition controlled the White House, Senate, House, and the majority of governors and state legislative seats.

Half the country was hysterical after their preferred candidate lost the 2016 election.  We were never all that “united.” We weren’t intended to be. The political, economic, and judicial system is based on fierce competition. We have 330 million people, in a huge area, all with free speech, and President only gets 65/75 million votes.”

Do we agree with Mr. Andelman?  Are we supposed to be united?  Can we be united and divided?  Can we move forward and make progress?  Can we unite on people issues and divide on political issues?  Can we unite on science/medicine and divide on business issues?  Can we unite on gender and racial equality and divide on religion? Can we disagree but move forward?

To be united is the state of being united or joined as a whole.  The United States is one of the most racially and ethnically diverse nations in the world. Considered the melting pot of cultures, religions, and ethnicities, our population has been profoundly shaped by centuries of immigration. 

If we step back and take a look at our current landscape (politics, small business, medicine, racial inequality, gender issues, etc.), we are no longer acting like the United States of America. There is nothing united in how we are currently functioning.  

Every leader of an organization, no matter how large or small, knows the importance of continuously sharing and supporting to the group a shared vision. Defining for your team - this is who we are, this is what we stand for, this is why we do our work, this is our goal and our plan to achieve it. This common central identity is what brings together our project teams, our favorite sports teams, our charity associations, our business organizations and even our countries. Without a strong message from a central voice, we are left with confusion, competition and confrontation.   We see this happening today.

From the Seattle Times, “We need to hear the things that are universally important to us as a nation. We need directions that can be followed from sea to shining sea. We need reassurance that only when we consider our neighbors and our fellow Americans in other states can we repair the damage ...”

"America was once a country defined by our confident self-perception that we sometimes called “American exceptionalism.” Our “can-do” spirit helped us win two world wars, land on the moon, invent much of the world’s economy, and create a working class that was the envy of the world. Now we wonder whether we are a nation coming apart at the seams.

America is divided in ways that bring to mind the great social upheavals of the 1960s, or worse, our great Civil War of the 1860s. The rise of “red-state” versus “blue-state” hyper-partisanship has metastasized into increased racism, nationalism, anti-Semitism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, and homophobia that is far too often expressed through violent attacks. A truly great nation worthy of a modern exceptionalism would rise to the challenge of healing the wounds of hate and division, giving all Americans the opportunity to participate in growing an economy that offers broadly shared prosperity (Brooking Institute)".

“This is a time when our country seems divided in ways that cannot easily be bridged.  There is the top two percent and the bottom 98 percent.  There are republicans and democrats. There are minorities and majorities.  There are citizens and illegal immigrants.  There are white supremacists and groups that value diversity.  It seems like society is divided into multiple groups that dislike or even hate each other.  At times, it seems that we will never be able to overcome the divisions in our country and unite all citizens into one nation.” (David Johnson).

I want to be part of a country that appreciates that the individual sacrifices we make are for everyone — not just for me, my family, my friends, my neighbors, my state, or my political party. I want to be part of a United States of America. We can be better and not always at the expense of others. Everything is not only a win/lose issue.

Americans are more empathetic and less dogmatic than many are inclined to believe. Beneath all the polarized rhetoric, we care about our fellow citizens, we are bewildered by the hostility all around us, and many of us want the same things out of our shared democracy.  

We need to enter each conversation with a strong dose of humility about the other side – whatever that other side is. We usually find people’s views are far more complex than expected.  We also need to focus on lifting up our shared values. Whenever we argue to “win,” we rarely hear the other’s views. When we start out by validating aspects of each other’s positions, we can engage in a real dialogue.

We have a long and challenging road ahead of us to repair a broken heart in our country.  We can rise up and make change for the better.  If our leaders and neighbors wish to unite, then we must establish joint goals, build a mutual identity, bring an awareness of dependence on each other’s resources, and encouraging all of us to participate in the process of democracy. 

We will have to work hard to ensure positive interdependence exists so we can get back on the journey for a better country.  A country where our nation is: free of corruption, has a highly functioning government, lives with a robust economy, has a fair distribution of resources, provides a free flow of information and has empathetic neighborly relations. The best countries also all have systems where citizens flourish due to a lack of violence and are able to reach their full potential by being their true selves (Conde Nast).

America was great, is great and can continue to be great, but it will take unity with our leaders AND also unity with our neighbors. We the People in order to form a more perfect Union... Note it does not say perfect, it says more perfect. Strive for perfection ... or at least progress.

Together.  We.  Win.