I am against unity!
Let me be clear. I am against how many Republicans are using this term. They argue loudly that President Joe Biden’s executive orders and legislative goals are divisive and will rip apart our country. They make that claim without understanding the obvious irony of their use of this word.
For four long years, our country was weakened and divided by Donald Trump’s rhetoric, in which he railed against immigrants, our allies, the environment, women, the poor, African countries, the media, the judicial system, the 2020 presidential election and the Constitution.
And now, after all that, Republicans, without a tinge of self-awareness, are calling for unity and, in the same breath, criticizing Biden for his call for unity.
Unity, for Republicans in the Biden era, means a return to Trump’s divisive domestic and foreign policies, political extremism, white supremacy and, in some cases, an out-right assault against our democratic institutions.
More than 120 Republican representatives and several senators voted against the electoral results of some states. Trump, right-wing journalists and several representatives and senators clearly encouraged Republican political extremism that led to this violent attack against the U.S. Capitol. In the aftermath of this assault, many Republicans only offered a tepid response or, in some cases, a non-response.
And, more recently, the Republican Party has been taken hold by radical extremists as demonstrated by the profound silence towards the anti-Semitic, anti-democratic and violent rhetoric of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. And these same Republicans now are so righteously calling for unity.
In contrast to the Republicans’ ironic use of the term unity, Biden in his inaugural address offered a clearly rational and inclusive definition of the term.
He said, “Let us listen to one another. Hear one another. See one another. Show respect to one another. Politics need not be a raging fire destroying everything in its path. Every disagreement doesn’t have to be a cause for total war.”
And what should we all focus on in order to achieve unity? Biden suggested this: “What are the common objects we love that define us as Americans? I think I know. Opportunity. Security. Liberty. Dignity. Respect. Honor. And, yes, the truth.”
Unity does not mean total agreement with the policies of the other party. Indeed, I believe that the proper use of unity has little to do with policies. Obviously, everyone may have a different view of policies and some views might be held very strongly. An engaged electorate should have informed policy differences which then drives each party to come up with better ideas. And participating in policy debates again does not reflect a lack of unity and national discord.
A democratic society requires as many people as possible to have some understanding of relevant policy debates and a willingness to engage with each other and with each other’s ideas. But, more important than policies, we need to focus on the foundational principles of our country that we must share. Let us all (as Republicans, Democrats and independents) start by rejecting the divisive rhetoric and violent actions of Republican extremism.
As Biden pointed out, in order to achieve this form of unity, we do not need to agree with each other’s policy positions, but we do need to embrace what truly unites us in these United States: “Opportunity. Security. Liberty. Dignity. Respect. Honor. And, yes, the truth.”
Howard Lehman
Howard Lehman is a professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Utah. The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed here belong solely to the author, and not to the University of Utah.
