After the Civil War, a shift in how the country perceived itself began to quicken. The way citizens of the United States saw themselves was changing. To whom we were loyal was broadening outside of our own states.
The country went from saying, “the United States are,” to “the United States is.” While the country had been torn asunder just a few years prior, having created a divided house that did collapse, it was moving forward as a singular entity. It was more than just a healing process that occurred after the war, but a complete transformation that sought to unify the states into one.
Now, this transformation didn’t instantaneously occur. For decades afterwards, official government records and organizations would continue, in part, using a plural form of the United States, that the United States are. But for the general public, it was much different. They embraced the change, which was already beginning to take hold prior to the Civil War.
Popular works, including books and pamphlets of the time, as well as newspapers, started speaking about us as one, a singular entity. So effective would this shift be that today, we simply take it for granted.
However, while we may view ourselves as a singular country, a different divide has begun to manifest. As with the Civil War, and the separation of the country, the question again is to whom is our loyalty given?
The Question of Loyalty
One of the misunderstandings that many have about the Civil War is exactly why it was fought, but even more, why individuals chose to fight. The reason why a state seceded, and why a citizen of that state would fight was often quite different.
At the most basic level, those southern states that chose to secede did so, at least in part, because they wanted to see the institution of slavery remain. When looking at the articles of secession by each state, saving slavery is explicitly mentioned. Even before Abraham Lincoln was elected President, there were threats by various states that if a Republican won the election, they would leave the union because of the potential threat to slavery.
History is very clear that slavery was a major factor as to why southern states seceded. However, history is also quite clear that the reason someone would choose to become a traitor, and fight for their state against the country they had just abandoned, often had nothing to do with slavery. Instead, their motivation to fight was due to their loyalty to their state. A loyalty that superseded any loyalty they may have had towards the United States.
And let’s be clear, those who chose to secede and fight against the United States committed treason. They gave up their citizenship for a new country, while turning on their former country and attacking it. Over the years, this has been a point often gleamed over. The reason for this is rather simple. After the United States won, after the Union was victorious, the goal was for reunification. To do that, leniency was practiced.
So why did so many choose to commit treason? Largely because their loyalty was for their state. They saw themselves as a citizen of their state first and foremost, and then part of some larger union. The perception was still that the United States was plural, not a singular entity.
Before the Civil War, many had already seen the country as having been divided, not just between north and south, but between states. For decades after the war, the country has tried to fix that. Entire narratives have been invented in order to promote unity and the idea that we are the United States, a singular country. That loyalty to the country comes first.
Regardless of how hard many have tried in order to keep this narrative up, in recent years it has begun crumbling quite quickly. At least among a segment of our population. A segment that exists on both sides of the aisle.
Causing a Division
While at one time, it was state boundaries that caused a massive division, today, it’s colors, or letters, that has become the wedge that is causing the split. What has to be stressed though is that both sides are guilty of hammering that wedge down further.
So what is that matter that is causing this division? Loyalty to either a political party, or at times, a political leader, over loyalty to a county. This became most evident on January 6, 2021, when the Capitol was stormed. As more details have come out about that fateful day, a few things have become clear.
But first, we have to realize that those who committed those acts on January 6 are a minority group. They don’t represent the Republican party as a whole, or even conservatives in general. Instead, they represent a group on an extreme edge. This is important to note as often we mistake the very vocal minority for the majority.
What occurred on January 6 is only the clearest example of this idea of choosing a party, or specifically a leader, over one’s own country. Those who stormed the Capitol, at least in part, were intent on overthrowing a democratically elected official in order to have their own candidate retain power. Some of these individuals were so intent that they sought to kidnap and perhaps even murder those they saw as opposing them.
There is no reason to even conjecture here as to what the intent was among some of these participants, as the investigations into the whole affair have made the intent clear. These individuals were clear about what they wanted to achieve, which was to keep Trump as President, and what lengths they were willing to go to achieve that goal, which included possible murder.
While some Democrats and liberals haven’t gone to that same extreme, at least not yet, the mentality is still the same. For those individuals, it’s party over country. Individuals on both sides are guilty of this, which has to be remembered. It’s not only one side who sees this situation as us vs them. As good vs evil. As moral vs corrupt.
Diversity in our Foundation
Once a person gets to that point, country no longer really matters, because the fact is, the United States is a remarkably diverse nation. It was founded on diversity, on the exchange of opposing views, in which our founders were able to find compromises. The very document in which the United States is built on, the Constitution, is a work of compromises. The Bill of Rights, which so many hold so dear, was a necessary compromise to even get the Constitution ratified.
To get rid of this diversity, as some on either side wish to do, we threaten to undermine the very foundation of this nation. To refuse to compromise, or even to listen to other views, is the exact opposite of how this country was formed. One could say that to do such, is unAmerican.
The United States isn’t just Democrats or Republicans. It’s not one side or the other. It’s so much more complicated, as it should be. The founding of our nation wasn’t a simple process, but one that was exceptionally complicated.
If we can’t even sit down and hear the other side out, we’ve already lost. If we lose respect for a person based on a single vote, we’ve already lost. And if we can’t see the need to compromise, then yes, we’ve lost.
The Fix
There is no easy fix to all of this. It took us decades to get into a position where a group of people would feel justified in storming the Capitol. It won’t be fixed in a single day. It’s going to be something that takes time, and patience.
What it does mean is that we all have to put in a bit of effort. We have to realize that any vote for a candidate is a series of compromises. It’s a balancing act, weighing what one sees as positive, vs that which is negative. It means realizing that voting for someone doesn’t mean you support everything they stand for or may represent.
It also means speaking with those on the other side, and doing so in an open and honest manner. Going into a conversation and believing the other side is evil gets us nowhere. Those biases have to be dropped, and our own prejudices checked.
But most of all, it means accepting diversity. Diversity of political views.
