Divided We Fall

By T. Braustein

Centuries later, Aesop’s famous quote still holds true, yielding inspiration for unity even as our patriotic sense of community ebbs and flows: “United we stand, divided we fall.”

But our nation is falling.

Children return to school, resuming daily recitations of the Pledge of Allegiance, but the notion of our country being “indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” seems illusory at best.

A report released Tuesday shows that the country remains starkly divided in outlook toward one of its most distinguishing qualities: diversity.

According to the report, “What it Means to be American,” only 17 percent of Whites believe discrimination against minorities is a critical issue. Contrarily, 51 percent of Whites believe discrimination against them is as big a problem as it is against minorities. Meanwhile, 42 percent of Hispanics and 53 percent of Blacks believe discrimination against minorities is a critical issue.

In our determination to amend our nation’s past racial indiscretions, have we instead created a setting ripe for vain accusations?

Granted there are grave statistics to support some claims of discrimination – take the recent finding that Black men are more at risk than any other demographic to fall out of middle class, or the report that Hispanics make up more than half of all people sent to prison for felony crimes so far this year, for example.

It’s hard to imagine a country that is truly indivisible, serving justice for all when everyday reminders of our racial differences become negative reinforcements of stereotypes rather than uplifting foundations for growth.

Indeed, just “10 years after September 11, 2001, we seem far less united as a nation.”