Indivisible, the key word in America's Pledge of Allegiance is defined as, "consisting of one whole, not separable into parts; incapable of being divided". The word indivisible may have described the America of the past but it most certainly doesn't describe the America of today, its government and society.
All sorts of divisions exist in this country; let's begin with the fact that prejudice and hatred are still very much alive in our society. African Americans and people of the Jewish faith have long been targets of those who are incapable of interacting with and being respectful of others whose skin is of a different color or who may possess different religious beliefs.
More recently undocumented Hispanic immigrants and Muslim Americans have become the targets of this gross intolerance. Many of them now live in fear of being deported, separated from their children, or having to live under the cloud of constant surveillance.
Among these many divisions one of the deepest involves government and politics. Liberal/progressives and right wing conservatives have little respect and, very often, a profound dislike for each other. They have almost totally opposite, irreconcilable views on critically important national issues. The great divide in Congress and also in this society over these issues has grown to such an extent that it seems like we are living in two separate Americas.
One would think that a country that boasts about its freedoms and justice for all would have, over a period of time, evolved away from this prejudice and intolerance but, unfortunately, it remains embedded in the minds of far too many Americans.
Without question Americans see the U.S. Congress as being almost useless, extremely confrontational, and more than dysfunctional, filled with individuals who simply cannot and will not work together; there is no room for compromise and gridlock is the order of every day.
That's largely true and it's very easy to find great fault with and heap large amounts of scorn on these political hacks. But when we look further into all the reasons for these great divisions it may be that we the people could be the "the pot calling the kettle black" and should accept a large portion of the guilt for this unsettling national condition.
A portrait of the America in which we live would show that, in communications and interactions between people, there is black and there is white but there is little to no room for any gray.
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