Beech Tree News Network

Prior to 2020, the year that many people point to as one of the most chaotic in U.S. history is 1968.  I was born the last day of that year so I do not have first-hand knowledge.  However, I have read and researched a ton about this era and the social turmoils of the times.  The war in Vietnam was raging and it was becoming more divisive by the day.  The Tet Offensive took place at the beginning of the year and by the time of the assassinations - Martin Luther King, Jr. in April and presidential candidate Robert Kennedy in June following a key primary win in California - the country seemed to be coming apart at the seams.  

Between the Covid-19 pandemic, nationwide lockdowns, the killing of George Floyd at the hands of police, and the rioting and looting of American cities, many folks feel the fabric of society is unraveling.  I can understand that feeling.  The “social contract” espoused by John Locke, which is a fundamental principle on which this country rests, has always been more tenuous than we imagine it to be.   What’s next?  Where do we go from here?  These are questions that many Americans of all races are asking.  

As I watched and read the news this week I pondered some of those questions.  Specifically, I asked myself the question that is the title of this column - “In the age of polarization, what can unite us?” 

Sadly, I couldn’t immediately come up with a good answer.  For most of our history, this country’s symbols provided a platform for unity.  From our founders themselves, our founding documents, our flag, most folks of all races through the years have embraced these as symbols of unity.  We recognize our shortcomings to be sure and acknowledge how race and slavery was unfortunatley intertwined in it all.  But, we were smart enough as a people, using context and discernment, to balance the goodness of this nation while also acknowledging where we were wrong in the past.  

The United States hasn’t always lived up to its grand ideas but the progress we’ve made as a nation has been remarkable.  The Al Sharpton-types and the editors of the New York Times like to remind you that this nation had slavery at its founding, about the terrible atrocities of slavery in the south that led to war, and state efforts to perpetuate a de facto system of slavery for a hundred years after the Civil War.  True.  But, how often do you hear about all those individuals - black and white folks - who pushed back against it from the beginning?  How about the story of a brand new political party that arose in the 1850s with opposition to slavery as one of its founding principles - the Republican Party?  Do they celebrate the fact that well over half the nation rose up against slavery during the 1860s and were willing to spill blood and treasure to preserve the union and end institutional slavery?  Or, what about all the Civil Rights legislation that has been passed?  This is just a short list of that progress.  Can more be done?  Yes.  But, to suggest that this nation is evil in its founding and rotten to its core is a gross and unfair characterization.  People must push back against this destructive and false narrative.      

Now, let’s revisit 1968.  In some ways the events of that year were more problematic as the country was politically divided in a way that it isn't now.  You may think that sounds crazy but hear me out.  With U.S. involvement in Vietnam as the focal point of debate, there was legitimate division.  Many Americans continued to support the war, while others were strongly opposed.  Rational arguments could be made on both sides.  Therefore, the division that existed was real in the tangible and measurable sense.  With the George Floyd situation, there is no division.  Seriously, there is no division.  Everyone everywhere condemned his killing and the offending officers were brought to justice quickly - within 10 days - and soon they will face trial.  There is no great debate raging across the nation about the actions of those specific police officers.  However, opportunistic individuals and organizations  - white and black - used the event to unleash even greater chaos into  American society in the name of justice.  The result has been widespread injustice.  

A contributing factor that makes finding common ground more difficult is that we can no longer agree on what words mean.  One would think that opposition to racism would be a unifying theme.  In a sane world it would be.  But, we throw the word “racism” around now so much that it can no longer be defined in a concrete way that is measurable and behavior-based.  Support a border wall?  Racist.  Support voter ID?  Racist.  Defend the police?  Racist.  Criticize rioters, looters, and mobs tearing down statues?  Racist.  Stand up for the American flag?  Racist.  You get the picture.  Then, we inject inflammatory language to the mix to smear entire groups of people.  Racial charges of  “privilege” and “guilt,” are bandied about as absolute facts that cannot be disputed.  Good grief.  Generational blood guilt - holding certain demographic groups of the current generation collectively responsible for the wrongs of previous generations - is that a serious debate that we’re going to have in 2020?  You’ve got to be kidding me?!

Despite my exasperation with the current state of affairs in our country, I am still hopeful that opposing sides can find common ground, that respect for all people can return, and honest debate about issues important to all of us - regardless of race - can take place.  This is what justice looks like.  Martin Luther King Jr. said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Those are good words.  We are one nation.  We are one people. We are Americans, imperfect people living in an imperfect nation in an imperfect world. However, we have always been pointed toward the high ideals of our founding:

“We the people...in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility…”

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”   

As a young nation we have fallen short of these lofty goals at times but we have taken significant steps in that direction.    What can unite us? Let’s start here.  

---

Comments?  Send to [email protected].