We are a colorful patchwork of humans here in America. Our ideologies differ as much as other factors in our physical and psychological makeups. We are a melting pot that occasionally boils over. We are all immigrants to this land. Native Americans were the first to arrive from Asia and Siberia, followed much later by peoples from Spain, Portugal, Britain, France, and other nations. In that mix there were about 600,000 slaves brought here from Africa with a bit over half of those arriving before 1776.
Across the centuries we have developed a strong cultural identity as Americans while often retaining some acknowledgement of foreign heritage. As of our last census in 2010, about 37 million of us are foreign born, another 34 million have at least one parent foreign born, and 230 million are 3rd generation with foreign born grandparents. That's 301 million people within 3 generations of immigration. Consider that the U.S. population during that census was about 309 million, and you get some sense of the flavor of this rich American Stew. By 2044, the United States is projected to become a plurality nation. That is, while the non-Hispanic "white alone" population will still be the largest, no race or ethnic group is projected to have greater than a 50 percent share of the nation’s total population.
This preamble is merely to establish the United States as a remarkably diverse, multi-racial, multi-ethnic nation where people have been immigrating for centuries. Within our borders we have moved around, and the “stew” has been mixed thoroughly. But, also within that amalgam of cultural ingredients, we have developed new identities by region, religion, biases, race, or other factors where some commonality may exist. We identify ourselves by political party affiliation using labels such as Democrat, Republican, Independent, Liberal, Conservative, etc. We may also be southerners, Bostonians, Christians, Yankees, or almost anything that may be stitched on a ball cap.
This brings us to the year 2021, where we have just exited a four-year period of intense national division. This was promoted, in part, by a president who sought gratification of certain authoritarian leanings by using divisive rhetoric and a very loose association with the truth and reality. He exploited that inherent weakness in our nature for his own aggrandizement.
This all boiled over after he was voted out of office and decided to make one last attempt to apply an emotional salve on his wounded pride by organizing a group of followers with false claims of a stolen election, election fraud, and a false hope of recovering his position by force. He convinced this group of rabble that he was with them both emotionally and physically, that they would have the support of other unidentified officials and perhaps the military, and that a march on the Capitol to disrupt the final step in the election certification proceedings would bear fruit. Like most of the ramblings of this emotional child, it was all untrue. To put a finer point on it, they were all lies uttered only to bolster his fragile ego.
Now, many of his followers feel disillusioned, betrayed, and abandoned. With the “emperor’s clothes” now fully exposed, it remains for the courts to punish these poor disillusioned souls. As with most of the wealthy class, it is doubtful that the instigator will suffer any repercussions for his deeds. Half of the Senate, made up of Republicans, fear the Cult of the former president, and will take no action. Legal jeopardy in the courts remains a sketchy straw that may be grabbed by some enterprising prosecutor, but that remains to be seen.
We are now hearing from the right side of the aisle that it is time for us to follow that famous Beatles lyric and “Come together, right now, ...” That would be all well and good and it would be nice if we could mend a few fences and return to a time, if not of total peace, at least to one of civility. For that to happen, I think that those who supported this president in his policy, will need to condemn all acts of violence perpetrated in his name. Included in that disavowal would need to be an outright condemnation of those groups, praised, and encouraged by the former president, who openly attack our democracy, spread malicious conspiracy theories, support white supremacy, and otherwise align themselves with ideologies that are so abhorrent that they need not be listed.
Our American Quilt is tattered and torn and in need of a few stitches, but it can be repaired. I don’t expect to see a monumental Kumbaya moment in our immediate future, but I would like to see a return to civility and respect for one another. That will take movement from both sides. Not a change in base ideologies, but a change in attitude in how we promote our ideas with one another. A repaired American Quilt can provide comfort to us all. I think Linus Van Pelt would agree.
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