Division…Unity…What’s the difference?
“You may be right
I may be crazy
Oh, but it just may be a lunatic you’re looking for
Turn out the light
Don’t try to save me
You may be wrong for all I know
But you may be right.”
-Billy Joel
What is the reason for the division in our country? Is there any way for this divide to be unified? I say no. Why, you ask? It is a straightforward explanation for a somewhat complex problem. Think differently is the essence of what being an American is all about. But these same differences in ideology and belief are the foundations of why I think we will never be unified again as a county.
How do you bridge the gap between such ideological differences? I mean, how is there compromise when it comes to the topic of, let’s say, abortion? What would a pro-lifer and a pro-choice advocate give up meeting in the middle? The core value of their belief on the subject doesn’t allow for a move one inch from their stances. Could an abortion advocate enable the state to tell them they can’t have an abortion? And could a pro-lifer allow the state to allow some abortions that go against their religious or ideological beliefs and still save face? Therefore, the division will continue because the whole essence of the divide is such a “line in the sand” issue.
In the 1973 ruling by the SCOTUS, Roe v Wade didn’t settle the issue of abortion for the states or the entire country. It sparked even more division and discord because the emotional attachment to that one side of the argument that you stand on is so individually important. I haven’t met many people in the middle of the opinion of the highest court in the land on abortion. Either one side believes the court protected a woman’s right to choose, or the other thinks the court made a blunder constitutionally. The word abortion never entered the wording of the Constitution, so how does the Constitution give a woman the right to terminate a pregnancy?
“Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” the Declaration of Independence shouts in its text. But who’s the life we are protecting has been up for debate even before 1973’s ruling. Is protecting the mother’s rights the vital issue, or is the protection of the unborn life the cause for concern? Roe v Wade, and even in Casey v Planned Parenthood, the SCOTUS has sided with the woman and her right to choose. Like it or not, this is the precedent that the land follows today.
Well…..not so fast. In 2021 two cases that have come to the SCOTUS have put into question the federal and state laws about abortion again. The make-up of the court’s ideological dynamic is interesting. Many people believe that the cases brought by Texas and Mississippi could change the previous courts’ decisions and make it either unlawful or stricter to have an abortion in the coming years. It is for sure that this decision, either way, decided, will not unify the two sides one bit.
Many differences in this life are just that….differences in ideology, beliefs (religious or not), opinion, or even just differences between males and females on an issue. I can bet the house that any ruling by the SCOTUS will cause celebration, as well as outrage. There will be no compromise, and one shouldn’t be expected in some things in a country that allows free-thinking. Many hope for unity, just like the current president said he was going to do if elected. But just like that turned out to be maybe wishful thinking or an outright lie, the division is still here. It will continue to be here, and we should get use to it. What is just as American as apple pie and Chevrolet? You guess it….division, differences of opinions and in my case pecan pie is better than apple pie. I have my opinion, and you have yours. But mine is always right…….well, to me it is.
The Coach John Brent
