Is there an answer to the historic divisions facing the country?
How many people read the news this morning? I know I did—I run a column called the Terrier News Update so I have to stay up to date. I think I’ve read more headlines and articles this year than any other year, maybe even if they were all combined.
I can tell you about rising coronavirus cases, I can tell you about the debates, who’s ahead in which election polls, I can give percentages about mortality and mask effectiveness and decline in household income and increased mental illness rates in the so-called “quaran-teens.”
No matter which news sources you use—and we at the Old Gold and Black recommend you use a variety—one thing about America has become abundantly clear: we are divided.
That division is everywhere, too. Class division, racial division, political division—these are consistently a part of the headlines and the social media posts in every corner of the internet.
An analyst from The Hill said America is at its most divided since the Civil War, and that was in 2018 (if you can remember when things were so tame). The Associated Press News has since started a series on Divided America™ and what we can do to close the gap.
The other thing that has become abundantly clear is that things aren’t going great right now. Whether you’re worried about your relatives getting the coronavirus or the onslaught of climate disasters that just keep stacking up or the progress of racial justice in this country, chances are you have something to worry about, something bigger than your philosophy midterm.
It’s no surprise that our time of greatest division comes at a time of crisis, but maybe it should be. In the past, the people of the US have been able to set aside differences for a common good, whether that’s surviving the depression or fighting the nazis. I’m nowhere near the US-will-fall-apart-Roman-Empire-style side of the board, but the division we’re seeing right now has already cost two hundred thousand lives, many of which were avoidable, and that’s just from the virus. Who knows how many lives could have been saved if we had come together sooner on issues of climate and racial injustice?
The good news of course is that there is still time to come together, time to unite and start saving those lives. With the end of 2020 approaching, and with it a new chapter in American politics, it’s time that we re-evaluate what it means to be American.
We all have the same goals: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These are immutable. Regardless of what class, race, background or political group you claim, these are the things you want, and these are the things we know others want. In helping others reach them, we will get there ourselves.