ICYMI: E Pluribus Unum
The Cyclical Beauty of the American Experiment
History is both linear and cyclical. It is like a tumbleweed being blown across the desert in the Western United States.
Blown in a specific direction while at the same, rolling over and over, head over heels, as Americans we are thrust into the chaos of history. It is the mystery of time and space. As Tancredi, the nephew of Don Fabrizio, the Sicilian prince of Lambedusa’s novel and Visconti’s film, The Leopard tells his uncle, “Everything must change for things to remain the same.”
American philospher George Santayana is famous for saying, “Those who do not remember history are condemned to repeat it.”
I prefer William Faulkner’s adage, “The past isn’t dead. It isn’t even past.”
E Pluribus …
Each of these aphorisms can describe America. Whether you love this country or hate it, both sentiments fit inside an American historical culture that allows for difference, the E Pluribusthat makes this country the most diverse in the world.
The differences are not defined by one thing. You can find African-American gun owners and conservative Gays. You can find leftist small business owners and farmers. Whatever sociological/political preference that you tie your cultural rope to, there are others who look just like you, live down the street from you and are tied to a whole different tribal tradition. It is remarkable that we exist in communities of extreme difference and still can be neighbors. At least in most places, we can.
I remember sitting with a friend and a group of her friends at a Thames-side pub in London several years ago. I sat and listen to their complaints about America. I had heard them before. Some of their criticisms were accurate, others were seemingly born out of resentment and a bit of jealousy for not being like America.
America is not perfect. The two sides of hatred and love for America cycle through periods of time where it seems that the country will come to an end. What should we make of the Pima County (AZ) Democratic Party hosting a F*** the Fourth celebration because of the Supreme Court’s abortion ruling? It is one extreme to its counterpart of a love of America. Go to any small town today, and there you will find parades and fireworks displays where people of differing political leanings march together as representatives of their specific group in their community.
We may be tribal in our anger and love, but we are not only tribal. We are also one people when a crisis strikes local communities.
… Unum
I am privileged to have traveled to a lot of places outside the United States. Everywhere that I have gone, people have shared with me their appreciation for America. Our nation represents something that they value. It doesn’t mean that they don’t have their criticisms. It means that America stands for something that means something to people around the world.
Here we talk about America being the Land of Opportunity. This is certainly true. However, there is more to it than just a place where you are free to make money. It is also a place where unity between people is possible.
The other day I came across this video of Wynton Marsalis, Music Director of the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Wynton is speaking about music and America. It describes for me the Unumwhich is the unity of the American experience.
As I sit here, listening to Thelonius Monk, I know that the E Pluribus Unum of America is within reach of each of us. All we need to do is stop, reflect upon the blessings and privileges that we have, and give thanks. Give thanks for what we have received and for the responsibility for making sure that Unum grows out of the E Pluribus that always carries the risk of spinning out of control.