America. The “land of the free and the home of the brave.” The only country in the world with more civilian-controlled guns than inhabitants. Where looking different can make you a target for harassment and possibly even assault or death. A beautiful and terrifying maelstrom of ideologies, hatred, love, patriotism, intelligence, and miscommunication. So if America can be defined by all of these contradicting ideas, what really is America? What does it mean to be an American? You may be wondering this, especially in a time of such turmoil, both politically and socially, and I’m sorry to say I don’t have a one-liner for you. No easily quotable answer for you and your friends when you inevitably ponder this at 3:00 a.m. I feel the best way to describe such a conundrum is to portray it through descriptive imagery.
America is a sleek ship gleaming in the sun as it cuts through the waters with ease. It is the invention of man. It represents humanity. It represents civilization. Its gold edges and powerful motors send it sailing through the world, very rarely outdone or outperformed. But all is not as it seems. The inside of the ship resembles a battlefield. Spent gun cartridges and blood on the floor evoke a sense of battle. But the invaders are nowhere to be found. The captain’s helm is burning and only a few officers are steering the ship, fighting amongst themselves. To be an American is to be a crew member on this glorious but flawed ship.
Really, there are only four choices for you. The first and easiest is to abandon ship and move countries. Not too hard: plane tickets aren’t exactly impossible to come by. The second choice is slightly harder: Do nothing about it! Trust your leaders to run you and the people you care about into the ground. The third choice is even harder: Try to do something about it! Run for office and uphold your party’s self-destructive beliefs until one day the whole boat sinks. The last choice is arguably the hardest, but also the noblest. Try to shut up! Listen to people! Try to accept the possibility you could be wrong! Then, talk. Socialize. Carefully plan out what you will say in advance and be respectful. Write down the opposing viewpoints and arguments that counter your ideas. Sit down with your verbal sparring partners and peacefully agree on a conclusion. If we did this neighborhood by neighborhood, we could reach a resolution and slowly but surely agree again on a government and set of laws that people would peacefully abide.
As I’ve said, the choices get harder and more complex, but they’re not impossible demands. If we all go with choice four, we’ll lose power over our neighbors by instead aiming to treat each other as equals. I personally would urge you to choose number four, but the beauty of America is that I can’t force you to.
America is what you make of it, destroy it, save it, abandon it—it’s all up to you. We have a great country and a solid global standing. Let’s not jeopardize that through miscommunication. In the Bible, specifically Genesis 11:1–9 the story of the Tower of Babel is told. Let’s not let miscommunication prevent us from approaching the heavens in our glory. Genesis 11:6 reads:
“And the Lord said, ‘Look, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.’”
Let’s follow that track. Let’s accomplish what we want and revel in the spoils and glory, enjoying retirement and peace—all through meaningful and respectful communication. Welcome to America. What will you do?
Ulysses Conrad can be reached at uconrad@wesleyan.edu