For some time now, I have felt that one of our biggest needs in the United States is unity. Our economic prosperity is often where we point and say things need to improve or we pick out some particular social difficulty and say it needs to improve. But I believe that if we as a people were united across parties, across religious beliefs, and all the other potential differences, these challenges would naturally improve. As united citizens, we could work together in a way that enhances our prosperity. United together, we would likely reduce many of the social difficulties that afflict us now.
I have come to believe that we can categorize unity based on its source. There is incidental unity that can develop as a result of random circumstances and there is intentional unity that develops because of intentional efforts of people. Unity from either source is valuable and can build strong communities, but only intentional unity is under our control.
An example of incidental unity is when people go through something difficult together, such as members of the military spending months together during wartime as part of the same unit. Another common situation that can lead to incidental unity is when people of a particular group find themselves together as a minority within a more massive group. This could be a few people who came from one country and find each other while living in another country. Or it could be a common background, such as a few people who have worked for the same company and they meet each other in some unrelated venue full of people. Familiarity can also lead to unity in the midst of a group of unknown people. Most of us have experienced that when we attend some event and we see someone we know from another place (work, school, church); we feel some sense of unity and connection with them. There are many occurrences of incidental unity like these, but we can’t rely on these to build unity on a national or global scale.
That’s where intentional unity is more valuable. We can make intentional efforts that can build unity. On the other hand, intentional unity usually involves changing our own views and attitudes. We have to work to produce this sort of unity. It doesn’t just happen naturally. I suppose it’s a lot like maintaining a good marriage–it takes intentional efforts to keep it strong.
I believe the most important element of intentional unity is for each of us to adopt a caring attitude toward people generally. It is important to view others as people who are just as important and valuable as we are. This concept is essential to have a real democracy where the voices of all the citizens are considered and not trampled by an uncaring system. This caring also includes looking for the good in others, rather than focusing on their faults. We all have faults and we all have some good. We also need to have in our nature the understanding that we all need some sort of help or support and, because we care, we are willing to help other people who need what we are able to give. That help could be anything that people need, such as food, companionship, work, money, etc. And that willingness to help needs to apply to anyone we meet, regardless what they look like, what they believe, or how they live.
I believe a couple of other important elements of intentional unity are valuing truth and keeping our wants within proper boundaries. Both of these don’t necessarily create unity, but their absence can destroy unity. By “valuing truth” I am also implying that we should look for what the truth is and share things as we understand them, without deception or manipulation.
Proper boundaries may include boundaries created by our laws and moral boundaries found in religion or other groups that advocate standards to follow. It is often when we cross such boundaries that people get hurt.
It would seem that intentional unity may require stepping out in faith to some degree, realizing that just because we are trying to make these efforts, that doesn’t mean that others will do the same. But as we advocate and model this sort of intentional unity throughout the culture, I believe we will see progress over time. More people will follow these principles, helping increase unity among people by their efforts. And in time, the light of unity can flourish and light up our nation beyond what we have ever known.
Will you start the work of intentional unity?