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We used to have a shared identity and even the immigrants that came here worked hard to become "Americans".
Today the divide is widening like never before and the Democrats are pushing it. The majority of us don't care what someones skin tone is as long as that person is a good neighbor, a good coworker, a good friend. It is all about the content of a persons character but Biden and his ilk are busy telling us that white people are the root of all problems and that White Supremacy is the greatest threat to the Nation.
How can we have a shared identity when politics have divided us?
How can we have a shared identity when so many people are so angry at the world and are looking for trouble when they take to the streets to protest, riot and fight the Police. I have zero in common with those fools.
The Democrats are the great dividers that have no interest in shared identity compromise in their quest for power.
I am not sure if the following is truly an answer, but FWIW --
I think that a shared identity is as important as shared goals and the recognition that we are people living on the same planet. I think what everyone wants are enough food to eat and a decent place to live -- and after that, the freedom and ability to live as one wants.
The problem, imo, is when one's freedom to live as one wants interferes with someone else's freedom to live as they want. To give just one example, if someone desires to party until 3 a.m. seven nights a week, that might interfere with their next-door neighbor's freedom to have a good night's sleep. That is why I think that like-minded people should live together in the same kind of community -- and try to ignore as much as possible what people choose to do 20 miles away.
What magical period of time are you talking about when immigrants off the boat are immediately accepted as Americans? Have you seen Gangs of New York? The people who assimilated earlier just turned around to discriminate against newer immigrants a generation later.
Of course I have seen "Gangs of New York" it is one of my favorite movies.
I'm married to an Irish immigrant and there used to be a time in this country where signs were hung up that read "No Blacks and No Irish". Her people were discriminated against here and back home the English murdered them, enslaved them, imprisoned them and basically treated them like trash.
The magical time I speak of is when the immigrants came to this country for a better life and they worked hard to get it. They learned the common language and the customs of society to fit in and get ahead. The same cries we hear today echo from the past that immigrants are coming to take the jobs and spread disease and their criminal ways etc etc.. These have always been concerns and still are today.
As I mentioned in a previous post the immigrants of yesteryear are not the same immigrants we are seeing today or at least the way they are being treated by our elected elites that are ignoring the "illegal" aspect of many of them as they champion for their Rights over citizens and Legal Immigrants.
As we saw in the movie "Gangs of New York" the immigrants were taken advantage of by being conscripted into the army and being shoved into voting booths numerous times. At least the "migrants" of today do not have to worry about being forced to join the army..
We're all Americans. At the end of the day, we're all on the same side. Of course we have a shared identity. The core of the American identity is that very, VERY different people can come together and all be 'American'.
True, demonstrated by the fact that 'e pluribus unum' was our de facto motto until adopting 'In God We Trust' as our official motto in 1956.
'Out of many, one' also 'One out of many' or 'One from many'.
In a democracy is a shared identity a requirement to true political compromise?
A shared national identity could be faith in the constitution, reverence for the same historical figures, similar national vision, and similar broad cultural values.
Roger Scruton argued that political compromise has gotten more difficult not because of things like gerrymandering, which have always existed, but because of a breakdown in our shared identity.
That we can always fall back on our shared identity for cohesion and common ground. That a shared identity makes us more of a family and less as enemies, but lacking a shared identity leads to Balkanization and strife.
Is there truth to this?
Yes it does. This is why America needs a major war or a major disaster to bring people together. Sadly. The wokes believe that America in its current form is not acceptable and has not met its expectations in its tenents.
Shared identity (non-racial) is best for the nation overall.
Similar to what was once recognized as the 'common good'?
In America, the common, or public good has been seemingly replaced by the notion of private benefit alone, it's akin to a catechism.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ReineDeCoeur
When was that?
You are right. From the beginning, we evidenced what Martin Luther King called a "schizophrenic personality".
We're still 'acting out'.
To justify slavery, the Court in Dred Scott defined a class of human beings as private property. 150 years later, the Court defined a class of private property (corporations) as people.
I have a shared identity with all American citizens. period. full stop. If others don't feel the same way, I find that disheartening, but that's their problem, not mine. Just my opinion, for whatever it's worth.
Maybe that's a really good start?
Fr'instance, perhaps an honest desire for compromise is a requirement for a functional democracy ... rather than ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by michiganmoon
In a democracy is a shared identity a requirement to true political compromise? ...
How can we get a true compromise when I can get cancel cultured for stating beliefs based on facts that had been mainstream just a short time before?
Personally, I like democracy, I saw the following on a sign while walking in Manhattan many years ago:
Quote:
Democracy is like sex - it works best when you participate.
-Anonymous
Robert Dahl defines democracy & the conditions necessary for a functional democracy here:
"In his book, Democracy and Its Critics (1989), Dahl clarifies his view about democracy. No modern country meets the ideal of democracy, which is as a theoretical utopia. To reach the ideal requires meeting five criteria [1]:
1. Effective participation
 Citizens must have adequate and equal opportunities to form their preference and place questions on the public agenda and express reasons for one outcome over the other.
2. Voting equality at the decisive stage Each citizen must be assured his or her judgments will be counted as equal in weights to the judgments of others.
3. Enlightened understanding
 Citizens must enjoy ample and equal opportunities for discovering and affirming what choice would best serve their interests.
4. Control of the agenda 
Demos or people must have the opportunity to decide what political matters actually are and what should be brought up for deliberation.
5. Inclusiveness
 Equality must extend to all citizens within the state. Everyone has legitimate stake within the political process.
Instead, he calls politically advanced countries "polyarchies". Polyarchies have elected officials, free and fair elections, inclusive suffrage, rights to run for office, freedom of expression, alternative information and associational autonomy. Those institutions are a major advance in that they create multiple centers of political power.[2]"
Culture evolves, the only constant is change measured in time.
Slavery was a fact, based on mainstream beliefs, & codified in culture, Constitution, & Court rulings. It defined a class of human beings as private property.
Personally, I like democracy, I saw the following on a sign while walking in Manhattan many years ago:
Robert Dahl defines democracy & the conditions necessary for a functional democracy here:
"In his book, Democracy and Its Critics (1989), Dahl clarifies his view about democracy. No modern country meets the ideal of democracy, which is as a theoretical utopia. To reach the ideal requires meeting five criteria [1]:
1. Effective participation
 Citizens must have adequate and equal opportunities to form their preference and place questions on the public agenda and express reasons for one outcome over the other.
2. Voting equality at the decisive stage Each citizen must be assured his or her judgments will be counted as equal in weights to the judgments of others.
3. Enlightened understanding
 Citizens must enjoy ample and equal opportunities for discovering and affirming what choice would best serve their interests.
4. Control of the agenda 
Demos or people must have the opportunity to decide what political matters actually are and what should be brought up for deliberation.
5. Inclusiveness
 Equality must extend to all citizens within the state. Everyone has legitimate stake within the political process.
Instead, he calls politically advanced countries "polyarchies". Polyarchies have elected officials, free and fair elections, inclusive suffrage, rights to run for office, freedom of expression, alternative information and associational autonomy. Those institutions are a major advance in that they create multiple centers of political power.[2]"
Culture evolves, the only constant is change measured in time.
Slavery was a fact, based on mainstream beliefs, & codified in culture, Constitution, & Court rulings. It defined a class of human beings as private property.
Cancel culture?
I once had a pro-Democrat government teacher that said he was a Democrat, because "Democrats say I disagree with every word that you say, but I would be willing to die to protect your right to say it."
That is true liberalism, but if it did match the Democratic Party in the 1990s, it no longer does.
How can we have true compromise when we are forced to do "diversity and inclusion training" where blatant lies and factually incorrect things are said and no one speaks up because we were told that disagreeing is a sign of racism. No one wants to be canceled.
Woke culture is based on BS. How do you truly compromise with obvious lies?
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