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How to make the United States united again?

B

benstt

Professional
Founding Member
I'm going to take a risk with this post, knowing it could go off the rails but hoping we can all be civil and productive. I'll ask posters to not soapbox on any particular party or specific issue and keep it on target. I've been giving a lot of thought to how we can make the United States united again. I'm from the Minneapolis Metro area and I also spend a lot of time in rural northern Minnesota. They are very different worlds and they don't have much respect for each other or understanding for each other. I see it across the rest of the country, too, depicted in various forms of media. I'd really hoped the pandemic would get us all pulling in the same direction but politics used the pandemic to actually make division worse. I'm sure most of you have seen this, too, and are probably similarly worried about it. It's going to be bad for us as a country if we keep pulling father apart. Left vs right, rural vs urban, north vs south, etc.

My experience with people on here has shown us to be a largely respectful group with a wide variety of valuable insights on many topics. I'm curious what the members think we can do. What do you think could start bridging the divisions in our country? How can we get people in this country to look at other people as fellow citizens, not opponents?
 
In-person, sit down over a meal. :) Come to it with no pretenses, with an open mind that's willing to not necessarily entertain change, but to recognize that we can be different and yet still respect each other.

When my family immigrated and Naturalized, it was a good thing to want to be American, to be a part of these United States. I'd like to see people realize that to be in the melting pot isn't the same as to lose one's cultural heritage or ethnic identity, but rather to adopt -and adapt- to the customs and culture of our *chosen* country, where we've come seeking The American Dream. . We celebrate the Freedom of Religion and Freedom of Free Speech because we are Americans, not in spite of it.
 
America is different than almost any other place in the world. We are not united by ethnicity, language, religion, etc. We have always been too diverse for that. For those who think that diversity is a strength, it really isn't unless you can find common ground to rally behind. The United States has always rallied behind a specific philosophy of rights pre-existing government because they are given by God, that man is basically evil with the desire to be good, and that because of this view of rights and anthropology we should craft a government of limited enumerated powers divided into separate branches with checks and balances. Unfortunately we have strayed far from that philosophy and we are seeing the result in increasing polarization in our society. The only way to fix the issue is to educate our children in the basic moral and philosophical underpinnings of our society and educate them on how and why that resulted in the specific government and societal structure which we have today. It will be a difficult road to travel though because I think we have largely allowed the takeover of many of our key institutions which has changed the nature and workings of the government we designed under other philosophical presuppositions. What it will take is intentional parenting and education over the course of several generations to re-establish a shared set of philosophical beliefs about who we are as a nation.
 
I'd like to see people have some form of respect for other opinions and I don't know how we get to that. To draw from my example of metro MN vs northern MN, the people just don't see value to where the other people are at or how they live. Its like we're two different states. Im really curious if any leader could actually say something like "look at the people to your left and right, they're citizens too. Let's pull together." I wonder if they'd get any traction or if they'd get laughed off stage.

If I had my way I'd close Facebook and the like down and get rid of opinion shows on news networks but the pesky 1st Amendment gets in the way if that.
 
benstt said:
I'd like to see people have some form of respect for other opinions and I don't know how we get to that. To draw from my example of metro MN vs northern MN, the people just don't see value to where the other people are at or how they live. Its like we're two different states. Im really curious if any leader could actually say something like "look at the people to your left and right, they're citizens too. Let's pull together." I wonder if they'd get any traction or if they'd get laughed off stage.

If I had my way I'd close Facebook and the like down and get rid of opinion shows on news networks but the pesky 1st Amendment gets in the way if that.
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I think the example you just gave actually demonstrates that our Founding Fathers had a much keener insight when they crafted our government than we realize. This is one of the reasons we had such a strong division between Federal and State rights, biasing the power of government much more heavily toward local/state governance. That all really changed post-Civil War wherein the Federal Government really began rapidly expanding the power and scope of governance over the states. With that we lost the ability for communities which are much more reactive to the needs and desires of their local citizens to craft policy and law that reflects their values. We often forget how brilliant guys like Hamiliton, Madison, and Jay were.
 
I am not on Facebook or choose to be I think it a bunch of bull poop but that’s my opinion I do agree on this particular forum people are really respectful of each other the world today could take a lesson from this forum . A bunch guys don’t ever know each other and we talk like we been friends forever.I don’t know about you but it makes me feel good well that’s my bull **** for today
 
I have said it before and will say it again . I think most of the trouble between the people of the two political parties is instigated by the media. They see something and then twist it . Example : The story about Border Guards on horse back whipping illegals which turned out to be false.
Then when the media is caught in a lie it takes them forever to retract the lie. This keeps people worked up , thinking the truth is in the first story

Even the weather channel shows fake stuff. Showing pictures of the news caster standing in a ditch to make flooding look much worse then it really is .

Also most politicians have forgotten that they are elected to serve us and not the other way around.

I don't know the answer for turning this around and I wish I did. I do know that I don't want to see one party over the other be in complete rule. Either party could become tyrants if they had full control of the country. We need both parties so each can keep the other in check.
 
I believe, as reflected daily on this board, that down deep the vast majority want the same things, but unfortunately that isn't a very sexy story. People flock to conflict so those who need attention - the media, politicians, etc -- continuously stir the pot to generate support for THEIR cause. And they have gotten really good at it. Social media has amped the ability to create this division, the lack of accountability allows craziness that would never fly in a face to face conversation. Unfortunately, no matter how crazy the talk, the more you repeat the lie the more it becomes reality. History shows how dangerous this can be. As adults we have warned our kids about the ills of social media and believing everything on the internet, but we somehow have let ourselves succumb to that very darkness.

As humans, we tend to react outrageously, slowly recognize our over reaction, and then find a balance. Only to repeat the cycle the next time something comes up.

How do we change? By actively and respectfully engaging those with differing opinions and requiring our "leaders" to do the same. Not easy.
 
DakotaIrish said:
I believe, as reflected daily on this board, that down deep the vast majority want the same things, but unfortunately that isn't a very sexy story. People flock to conflict so those who need attention - the media, politicians, etc -- continuously stir the pot to generate support for THEIR cause. And they have gotten really good at it. Social media has amped the ability to create this division, the lack of accountability allows craziness that would never fly in a face to face conversation. Unfortunately, no matter how crazy the talk, the more you repeat the lie the more it becomes reality. History shows how dangerous this can be. As adults we have warned our kids about the ills of social media and believing everything on the internet, but we somehow have let ourselves succumb to that very darkness.

As humans, we tend to react outrageously, slowly recognize our over reaction, and then find a balance. Only to repeat the cycle the next time something comes up.

How do we change? By actively and respectfully engaging those with differing opinions and requiring our "leaders" to do the same. Not easy.
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I agree. It's often a losing endeavor to get someone to have an open-minded discussion about issues. People seem to have picked a side and won't give any credit to a different opinion. I have no idea how to change that one when so many people chose an information bubble and just live there. How does one get them to look critically at their own beliefs? Can we even have a productive and civil dialogue with each other? My experience says that's a rarity. People get mad because they think they're being attacked, they start mischaracterizing dissenting opinions, etc.

I do wonder about the chicken and egg relationship between social media, divisive politicians, and divided citizens. Did the politicians get bad because social media whips the populace up over increasingly divisive and radical positions and the politicians respond because they profit from it, or are the politicians themselves finding wedge issues to split the populace into two sides and social media gives them the platform to do it? I suppose it could also be that the people on the extreme fringes are the ones that are the most vocal on social media, leading both media and politicians to think they fringes are actually the majority and catering to it. Whatever the situation is, it's a sick cycle.
 
I don't think it's possible at this point. My mother just told me yesterday her CPA (whom she went to college with), saw her donation to the Trump campaign and refused to do her taxes anymore. She asked if he thought Biden was doing a better job. He replied, he hated Biden too, but he hates Trump enough he doesn't care if the economy completely crashes to get him out. I saw a poll that said 84% of Biden voters think the economy is doing good right now. The country isn't just split in two, people are living in completely different realities. There's no reconciliation from that. But why would you want reconciliation? Biden has violated the American process repeatedly, with eviction moratorium, vaccine mandates, ignoring SCOTUS, and effectively ruling be decree. The republicans had control of the house and Senate 2016-17, they did nothing to roll back the democrat agenda, and instead entertained the russiagate hoax.

Reconciliation ultimately means republicans act as speed bumps and slow down the leftward lurch when they're in power. While the democrats rule by decree when they're in power, and expand federal power over rural areas, for problems caused by urban areas. Police brutality? Urban problem. Climate change? Urban problem. Income inequality? Urban problem.
 
This country has lost its moral compass,
From Facebook to Instagram, Twitter and TicToc it used to be the young and impressionable had parents to mentor them and played outside in the fresh air, now parents are busy working to not just be above everyone else but most to just survive and barely doing that. Children have no one to show them what is right and what is wrong.
Violent video games, tv shows that glorify gun violence and drug use.
I’m sorry to say I don’t have an answer or even an idea in how to change our current course, yes we need to talk to each other unfortunately I believe the division is to wide to bring people back together. Social media is a bigger pandemic then Covid-19, currently on Tic Toc there is a challenge to see how many school children can get away with slapping a teacher and running away.
This is the country we are leaving to our children.
 
bigx5murf said:
I don't think it's possible at this point. My mother just told me yesterday her CPA (whom she went to college with), saw her donation to the Trump campaign and refused to do her taxes anymore. She asked if he thought Biden was doing a better job. He replied, he hated Biden too, but he hates Trump enough he doesn't care if the economy completely crashes to get him out. I saw a poll that said 84% of Biden voters think the economy is doing good right now. The country isn't just split in two, people are living in completely different realities. There's no reconciliation from that. But why would you want reconciliation? Biden has violated the American process repeatedly, with eviction moratorium, vaccine mandates, ignoring SCOTUS, and effectively ruling be decree. The republicans had control of the house and Senate 2016-17, they did nothing to roll back the democrat agenda, and instead entertained the russiagate hoax.

Reconciliation ultimately means republicans act as speed bumps and slow down the leftward lurch when they're in power. While the democrats rule by decree when they're in power, and expand federal power over rural areas, for problems caused by urban areas. Police brutality? Urban problem. Climate change? Urban problem. Income inequality? Urban problem.
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See, what you just wrote includes a good bit of the divisions we've been discussing. You list a number of issues where people have radically different understandings of the facts and a large number of people won't consider evidence that doesn't support their position, no matter how compelling. For example, people could argue reconciliation means Democrats have to act as speed bumps as the Republicans march toward voter suppression and the rightward lurch the Republicans take when their in power. Collectively, it's all about agenda with little consideration for what is actually good for the country as a whole, what's real versus being a talking point, etc. (I'm not targeting you, by the way, just using the post as an illustration.) I think that's a symptom of the gross division in our country, we can't even agree on facts, let alone how to deal with them.

I'm enjoying reading people's opinions here but please do refrain from taking a position on an issue in responses as the topic is not about the positions we should take but rather how we get our fellow citizens on the same page and pulling in the same direction.
 
benstt said:
I'm enjoying reading people's opinions here but please do refrain from taking a position on an issue in responses as the topic is not about the positions we should take but rather how we get our fellow citizens on the same page and pulling in the same direction.
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Way I see it, this country has been pulling in different directions for a long time, and we're only just waking up to it.

If you think about it. NY and CA have already effectively seceded from the union, in the form of a soft secession. In fact, they've been on a campaign of soft conquest for decades already.
 
benstt said:
See, what you just wrote includes a good bit of the divisions we've been discussing. You list a number of issues where people have radically different understandings of the facts and a large number of people won't consider evidence that doesn't support their position, no matter how compelling. For example, people could argue reconciliation means Democrats have to act as speed bumps as the Republicans march toward voter suppression and the rightward lurch the Republicans take when their in power. Collectively, it's all about agenda with little consideration for what is actually good for the country as a whole, what's real versus being a talking point, etc. (I'm not targeting you, by the way, just using the post as an illustration.) I think that's a symptom of the gross division in our country, we can't even agree on facts, let alone how to deal with them.

I'm enjoying reading people's opinions here but please do refrain from taking a position on an issue in responses as the topic is not about the positions we should take but rather how we get our fellow citizens on the same page and pulling in the same direction.
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Here is the problem with that logic. There actually are facts in each of these situations. So just for example, take the idea that the Republicans are advocating voter suppression. The fact of the matter is that the Bills passed in Georgia and Texas, which have been deemed as efforts at voter suppression by the Democrats and left-leaning media outlets, actually increase access to the polls by allocating additional funds to run polling sites, allowing for mail-in votes, increasing polling times, etc. This is a perfect example where the actual facts and truth are being suppressed by an activist media bent on putting their thumb on the scale. I agree with your point that there are two sides to every argument, and that sometimes we can both share the same values but differ on what policies best accomplish the desired end state; however, you don't get to openly lie about a subject and then claim the other side is just obstructionist. I get it, the media has always biased their coverage to some extent or other. You look at the situation with yellow news during the Adams administration and the Alien and Sedition Acts, and you can see that news media has never been unbiased even from our founding. The difference however is that in the 1800's you had multiple independent local and national news sources competing against each other that were unable to collude with one another. That is no longer the case now that Big Tech, who controls the spigots from which information flows, has tossed their hat in the ring and has effectively monopolized which side even has the ability to publish or broadcast their opinion given the facts of any specific issue. And not only that, but you actively have Big Tech and government colluding with one another to keep others out of the information technology market so that some semblance of balance can be restored. Just look at how you have Big Tech lobbying Congress to regulate what content they can post while Congress openly threatens Big Tech platforms with anti-trust actions if they don't crack down on content with whom they disagree.
 
I think what we are seeing is the evolution of social media, the internet, mass media, and the ability of the politicians (all politicians) to be able to target their most rampant supporters at a granular level and effectively silence the majority on both sides.

I work with people from both sides of the aisle and it’s not a secret who feels what way, but we bypass that and don’t let it interfere with the task at hand. Many of us are lifelong friends and we would rather keep our friendships intact than be right.

Things won’t change until we make the effort to make that change happen. And that means embracing everyone regardless of whether they see the 2A the same as you, or don’t share the same views on universal healthcare or any other number of polarizing views. We have to stop dealing in absolutes. Not a one of us lives in a black and white world or leads a black and white life. We all live in a world of greys, of compromises. If you think otherwise, you’re fooling yourself. I have always tried to lead a life of inclusivity. The world is too rich and life is too short to only live for half of it.
 
When/if anyone tells me that they reject God, or the Constitution of the United States of America, or Freedom, or Democracy, or that I owe acceptance and approval to Nations or individuals that hate me for what I believe and the rights guaranteed to me; that Love, compassion, Non Judgement, courage and honor and the past sacrifices of many do not count, and they show/express their minds are set, either by conversation or deed to acts of hate, oppression, unfairness, and they delight in larceny of joy, peace, happiness and prosperity from others or want to hold power over others that prevent free choice and only want to take advantage..........then.........I mark them and walk away. Are they friend or foe? Am I obligated to feign friendliness/acceptance and thereby become as cellophane as they? If fellow Americans, either elected, voting, or my neighbor are working against truth, can not discern the truth from a lie, are they a Patriot or an enemy? When I extend respect, inclusion, peace and co existence and free choice to all, what is my responsibility to those who do not accept or return it? There are limits to what/who/ideas that can be accepted.
What is right is right. What is Just is Just. Compromise is fine but I will not join the enemy.
 
One thing I can say right off the top of my befuddled head- the schools have got to be non-political. The majority of the staff are hard leftists, teaching that awful CRT, having kids swear allegiance to various flags, expecting and tolerating intolerable behavior from some groups, disregarding history and civics in favor of deviant sexual training.. All these things have no place in a school paid for by the tax payers.
Readin', writin', arithmetic, science, English, history, civics, home economics, these are the subjects they should be teaching. The youth are the future and they are being sabotaged in those indoctrination centers.
 
C. Sumpin said:
When/if anyone tells me that they reject God, or the Constitution of the United States of America, or Freedom, or Democracy, or that I owe acceptance and approval to Nations or individuals that hate me for what I believe and the rights guaranteed to me; that Love, compassion, Non Judgement, courage and honor and the past sacrifices of many do not count, and they show/express their minds are set, either by conversation or deed to acts of hate, oppression, unfairness, and they delight in larceny of joy, peace, happiness and prosperity from others or want to hold power over others that prevent free choice and only want to take advantage..........then.........I mark them and walk away. Are they friend or foe? Am I obligated to feign friendliness/acceptance and thereby become as cellophane as they? If fellow Americans, either elected, voting, or my neighbor are working against truth, can not discern the truth from a lie, are they a Patriot or an enemy? When I extend respect, inclusion, peace and co existence and free choice to all, what is my responsibility to those who do not accept or return it? There are limits to what/who/ideas that can be accepted.
What is right is right. What is Just is Just. Compromise is fine but I will not join the enemy.
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I believe the lesson was turn the other cheek.
 
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