UNITY IN ONE HAND; DIVISION IN THE OTHER

“Merchants, conquerors and prophets were the first people who managed to transcend the binary evolutionary division, 'us vs them', and to foresee the potential unity of humankind.” - Author: Yuval Noah Harari

While President Joe Biden has called for unity, many of his political allies are determined to convict a no-longer-sitting president of impeachment. The stakes are high because if a president no longer in office can be tried for impeachment, then could any president theoretically be convicted of an impeachment retroactively? How about the impeachment of other officeholders on the whim of the Congress in an attempt to silence opposing views or prevent eligibility to hold future federal office?

Some of the same people that decided that Amen should be recited along with A-woman after prayer are those who will make these choices. Of course, Amen is Hebrew for “so be it” and has nothing to do with gender identification in all actuality. This narrow-minded tunnel vision thinking is all a result of Identity Politics where tribal alliances are formed and legitimized while decades-old efforts at desegregation and unifying acts are amazingly tossed aside.

Mid-Atlantic based Giant Food Stores is identifying the racial, ethnic or sexual orientation of the owners of food suppliers on foods stocked in their stores via price tags throughout the store with identifiers such as “LBGTQ Owned,” or “Black Owned” In a rush to judgment, at an attempt for inclusion, will this be more of a benefit or a burden to suppliers? It could, in fact, go either way and could lead to unwarranted discrimination which is likely why it’s never been tried before.

Racism and Identity Politics seem to go hand-in-hand. The slippery slope of politicians and political appointees with a history of racist remarks or writings is problematic. If we as a culture wish to achieve a greater sense of unity we must ensure that our leaders have a clear view of our mutual challenges and rewards as members of the human race.

President Biden’s pick for Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, Kristen Clarke, has a history of pushing to defund police. She previously expressed that black people have “greater mental, physical and spiritual abilities” while citing the chemical basis for cultural differences between Blacks and whites. Who even thinks in a way that any race is inherently superior to another? That fits the very definition of racism and does nothing toward promoting justice, fairness or unity in my view.

How about the quote from current U.S. State Department spokesperson Jalina Porter “The largest threat to U.S. national security are U.S. cops.” Unity? More like battle lines are being drawn.

What’s all of this posturing by the winners acting like sore winners? A perfect opportunity exists with unified condemnation of the events of Jan. 6, 2021, with near-complete agreement across party lines and ideologies. Instead, liberal leftists are gloating with many claiming that 74+

million Trump supporters are somehow deranged, a terroristic threat and need to be deprogrammed as members of a cult. Nothing says unity like deepening the division by trashing those with certain alternate views. Is this belief due, in part, to the findings of President Trump’s 1776 Commission and the ideals it supports? President Biden ended this Commission by Executive Order, on his first day in office.

Trump Commission says Identity Politics and ‘bitterness’ have warped history classes

The report accuses identity politics, and its influence on history studies, of fostering resentment by trying to divide people into separate, protected classes based on race and other characteristics. Instead, the Commission report says, schools and others who have roles to play in sharing the nation’s history should focus on providing a “patriotic education” that celebrates America’s ideals, its progress, and what unites its citizens, even as people are taught about the nation’s flaws and mistakes. That will help lead to a restoration of American education and a “national renewal.” The report goes on to suggest that “States and school districts should reject any curriculum that promotes one-sided partisan opinions, activist propaganda, or factional ideologies that demean America’s heritage, dishonor our heroes, or deny our principles.”

Is condemnation of Identity Politics a threat to the progressive movement even with a goal of unity? While cherishing our individual heritage and cultures, we must get past these tribal instincts and identifiers if we are to become more unified as we work to achieve the full potential of humankind.

One of the bright spots is in the world of law enforcement where there is by and large unification of its members from every imaginable ethnicity and orientation as one. WE ARE BLUE is the genuine battle cry of law enforcement in the fight for law and order throughout the free world as we work to protect our communities and return home safely to our loved ones after each and every tour of duty.

Keep working for the common good as you continue to promote goodwill and public safety. Honest attempts toward unification, whenever possible, are a worthy endeavor in all of our daily lives and activities.

Joel E. Gordon is a former Field Training Officer with the Baltimore City Police Department and is a past Chief of Police for the city of Kingwood, West Virginia. He has also served as vice-chair of a multi-jurisdictional regional narcotics task force. An award winning journalist, he is author of the book Still Seeking Justice: One Officer's Story and founded the Facebook group Police Authors Seeking Justice. Look him up at stillseekingjustice.com