“Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division” —Jesus (Luke 12:51).

         Jesus and His apostles spoke often of the need for unity, so why would He say this? Because true unity is usually elusive until divisions illuminate the real and important issues. 

         In high school I marveled at how two people would become antagonists, which would usually lead to a fight, and then after the fight they would become friends! In history we see this same thing happening with nations and to competing parties within nations. Divisions often lead to a fight, and then fights lead to unity. One would think there has to be a better way, but we don’t seem to have found it yet.

         Those who say America has never been more divided than we are today do not know our history. It has been worse at times. We have had many fights, which would be followed by a new level of unity and a great advance. Being such a divided nation is actually a reflection of being a free nation where people can express themselves and care enough about what they believe to fight for it. 

         Granted, the more serious the fight the more dangerous it can be. Even so, isn’t it interesting that the Southern United States, which caused a civil war by seceding from the Union, now seem to be much more patriotic for the Union than the rest of the country is? 

         It is also noteworthy that the basic divisions we are clashing over at this time have not changed since The Revolutionary War. During the War for Independence there was about 30% of the population for independence who were considered liberals, 30% remaining loyal to the British crown who were considered conservatives, and 40% that could go either way. In some basic ways The Revolutionary War was a civil war. Some of the battles during that war were Americans fighting Americans. At the important Battle of Kings Mountain, there was only one British soldier on the entire field. 

         After American independence was won and The Constitution ratified, it was said that the next ten years were one long shouting match. This calmed down from time to time, but we are still shouting at each other over some of the same issues. So, how is it that we call ourselves the “United” States of America? 

         Going back to the beginning when there were just two brothers on the entire earth, they could not get along. People have always had trouble getting along. To be united around almost anything is an accomplishment. In spite of our continued divisions on many issues, overall Americans have been remarkably united on most issues, for most of our history. This is even more remarkable for a people with the freedom to express themselves. Throughout history, almost any unity was only possible where it was forced by the suppression of dissent.  

         If Americans are actually in unity about most things, why does it seem that we are divided about most things? To a large degree this is the result of the media. Media is driven by controversy, and it is its nature to only cover the extremes of life. It has to. Who is going to watch the news that covers the average family having an average peaceful and quiet day? However, the real America is much more reflected in the average than the extremes.

         During the times leading up to the American War for Independence, the most common way Americans got their news was from the pulpits on Sunday mornings. Even during World War II people got much of their news about the war from newsreels shown before the movies at the theater, or they listened to it on the radio at night. Today, the news is constantly on the television and even on our phones, so it seems even more like nothing but the extremes are happening all the time. Not so.

         The point is that most of the people who are making most of the noise that is loud enough or exceptional enough to make the news is less than 1% of the population. They are not the real America, or the real world. It might help if we changed the name of “news” to “extremes.”  

         Even so, we need to understand why the divisions in America are about the same things, and remain at about the same level, as they did in 1776. There are still about 30% on the left, 30% on the right, and the remaining 40% are somewhere in between. From the 30% on the right or left there is a tiny percentage that can be hyper and loud, but they are rarely a reflection of most of those in their camp. The extremes on either side may be Americans, but they are not American as much as they may claim to be. 

         Our national bird is the eagle, and an eagle needs both a right and a left wing to fly. The general division of America into the 30% on the left and 30% on the right is necessary for flight, and the debate is healthy unless the weight on either side starts to move toward the extreme end of the wing. If the weight on either wing moves to the extreme end, we will quickly go from not being able to fly straight, to not being able to fly at all. 

         America is the longest surviving republic in recorded history by about one hundred times. The longest any previous republic lasted was just a few years, but the American Republic has lasted for nearly three centuries. Over this time the country has drifted to the right and to the left at times, but to date has always corrected before going too far. However, since the Great Depression each swing to the left has gone further to the left, and the corrections back to the right have not been making it back to the center, so the trend has been to the left. We have now moved so far to the left that John Kennedy would be considered a conservative today. Most who are conservatives today would have been considered liberals in the Kennedy Administration.

         Even more concerning than the constant bending to the left has been the constant eroding of the authority of The Constitution. The three branches of government have drifted further from their Constitutional lanes and are crashing into each other with increasing force. As the saying goes, “If you do not change your direction you will end up where you are headed,” and where we are headed right now is not where we want to go. How can we change our direction? We will address this in our future Briefs.

         A nation which can prefer disgrace to danger is prepared for a master, and deserves one. –Alexander Hamilton

         I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow in grace by reflection. It is the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death. –Thomas Paine

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© 2020 by Rick Joyner. All rights reserved.