What unites Americans as a single people?

America isn't united by blood, culture, ethnicity, race, religion, class, shared consciousness, shared identity, shared experience, or shared ideals. I can't see a unifying principle that binds all Americans together as a people. In fact, as time passes Americans seem to have less and less in common. So I put it to the intrepid, what unites Americans as a single people?

 

Well....not political forums, that's for sure.

 

Killing people...

 

Do you think that something should? What should it be and why?

 

Public school.......

 

The promise of 'opportunity', freedom justice and liberty are the most inspiring and attractive things I know of in this country.

To preserve those most foundational aspects of the American Dream, is what I believe unites MOST of us.

 

Pretty good answer. But I think it would be more correct if you just said schools. Many people think public schools are not doing their job and want the option of sending their kid to a private school

 

Polities that don't have a unifying principle die.

Look at China. It has a compelling unifying principle that reunites the Han every time China has been broken up throughout history. The Han have a conscious connection based on culture and race.

Take the Arab Nation as an example. Despite their disunity currently they have an emotional and religious connection to each other.

Take the Soviets as an example. The Soviet Union was based on an idea that died. The Soviet Union came apart as an inevitable result. The creation of the US was also based on an idea that was once shared by almost all Americans. That's no longer true.

Take the Green Irish as an example. They have been united by shared consciousness and experience wrapped in the Faith.

Without a unifying principle a polity is likely to lack the resilience to withstand calamities.

 

Well, once upon a time ago we were bound by an ideology of liberty.

Then the tactics of fear mongering were used to divide, and twist the narrative until Americans squabbled over what liberty meant. Choice 1) Giving up your liberty in the name of security, or Choice 2) giving up your liberty in the name of safety.

 

Not any more...

 

How about an intellectually coherent philosophy that can serve as a proper guide to discovering the true and the good.

 

When the big immigrant push came they knew the children had to learn to speak English and that our Republic couldn't work without a literate population.

There is a whole history written about it .. with awareness coming around 1850.

 

How so? Remember I live in California and am very familiar with the public school system here.

 

I like that too. Although school gets us to learn how to all work together. Those things you mentioned is what inspire us to keep it as a country.

 

I agree with you. But I also think that the lack of common ideals is tied up with different perceptions of the duties and rights of being an american.

Paternalism and individualism are fundamentally inconsistent. They really can't coexist.

 

This is like saying libertarian and pragmatic philosphy can't exist together.

I offer myself as a walking example to the contrary.

 

And people need to wake up period.

None of what a nation is (or will be) comes easily without concerted effort.

We have to work-at working together. Yet also be certain that separatism won't add to anything but our mutual problems.

 

That would work if the Americans had a public school system that taught them assimilation and unity. Multiculturalism breeds separate identities and division. Division can never produce unity.

 

I think I see your point.

I think people should accept that others are HUMAN; there are no perfect answers or solutions with us. But holding to decent guidelines like greater liberties, freedoms, opportunities and regard for one another, tend to help us move toward prosperity as a nation.

Remember folks, we're ALL HUMAN. (We know something about that, so let's act like we do.)

 

I disagree. Liberty and Equality are what we are talking about. There is a tension between the two that can't be reconciled in a nation that is divided between those who seek liberty and those who seek justice. In order to provide economic justice it is necessary to infringe on key elements of the ideal of individual liberty.

 

Wish you wouldn't have used the term multiculturalism, as I believe this term can include other ideas that don't require the rejection of American assimilation.

If you did this, I would 100% agree with you.

 

We need to figure it out. There won't be any pure/segregated anything on this planet; not for long anyway.

People need not give up their roots, to be unified with those having different roots. Yes, because people are human beings, we have to work at WHATEVER form of society that is before us. People working together for the benefit of all, isn't a bad notion. And yes, we have to balance things... no matter what we decide to be.

No fool would ever expect that.

 

Americans who share the beliefs this nation was founded on demand equality of opportunity, not equality of results.

There is no conflict between individual liberty and equality of opportunity.

 

Great point.

I know that no solution is perfect with human beings; but the best can be made of what we have or decide to do... IF people decide to work together.

 

Nothing unites Americans except the fact that we are Americans.