The Paradox of Unity
It turns out that striving for a unified America actually pulls us farther apart
A consistent theme in Joe Biden’s pitch for the presidency was that he would unite a fractured America. In his Inaugural Address, President Biden repeated his call for unity, calling it the “most elusive” thing in our democracy.
Unity is necessary, Biden said, to defeat our “common foes” like “anger, resentment, hatred … extremism, lawlessness, violence … disease, joblessness, hopelessness.”
This is inspiring rhetoric, but it may be self-defeating. Paradoxically, exhortations to unity can divide us. Frequent invocations of “unity” can create expectations that, when unmet, or perceived to be unmet, sharpen the differences.
Citizens believe politics has become too stressful and divisive. They hope that the president will bring people together. They want more compromise, less rancor, and greater respect in politics. With Biden, they want the country to “join forces,” “stop the shouting,” and “lower the temperature.”
All of this seems encouraging, but trouble looms.
Although citizens say they want a less divisive politics, they also tend to see their partisan opponents as the instigators of the divisions. Citizens blame only their political opponents…
