188. Finding Unity and Mending a Divided Nation

Our country is obviously divided, politically, culturally, and religiously. Despite living in the same country under the same laws, we have two separate nations in our country. In this episode, I'll discuss mending a divided nation and how we find unity amid all the chaos.

How We're Divided

We have divided ourselves in many ways across this country. We've separated ourselves into religious and secular, conservative and liberal, coastal and heartland, and in numerous other ways. With all of these differences, how can we even say we're one country? Discussions of secession come up on both sides of the political aisle, and many take it as an inevitability. What is dividing us? Mainstream Media, politicians, educational systems and numerous institutions seek to tear us apart instead of bringing us together.

"Even if a unity of faith is not possible, a unity of love is."
-Hans Urs von Balthasar

Methods for Mending a Divided Nation

I've spoken previously about what we need to come together, but I'm going to recap some of those thoughts. Basically, I think we need to first see each other as fellow human beings, fellow citizens. Rather than seeing political opponents as evil or vicious, we should see our friend or family member who holds those views in each person. We easily jump to conclusions about people instead of trying to understand them. So, if we are to have a healthy political and cultural life, we need to be able to discuss politics well. This means we have to know our own beliefs and biases, and discuss ideas with knowledge of our own potential pitfalls. We need to learn the lessons of the past and seek to mend and understand each other without wanting to dominate or control each other.