On Star Trek: The Next Generation, there was an episode about a planet wanting to join the Federation but could not because a small part of its population was opposed to it. It had to be unanimous, a united planet to be a member.

A united planet.

We who call ourselves citizens of the United States would be noted as liars to say we are united merely as a country these days. Once we got over the shock of it, I’d say we stopped being truly united five or so years after 9/11. Perhaps there was a momentary resurgence of patriotism when Osama Bin Laden was finally taken down, but the bloom fell off that rose pretty quickly.

Since Cain first had his jealous streak and took out Able it has been man’s penchant to divide and hold his cause in favor.

It is one of the oldest strategies in the book of power. And it works, because it plays directly into human nature.  We classify ourselves along political, social, religious, and economic lines, and so on. We used to agree to disagree and, if not fine, at least be tolerant of opposing views. These matters are central to human social existence and tend to resist any attempts at resolution. As a result, each side views the position of the other as a threat to its very existence.  The more we lose sight of our commonalities, the more we drift away from each other and become less human. When we group ourselves away from those outside our immediate groups and regard them with fear and hostility, even when they’ve done nothing, we forget that they are humans too, and that makes us part of the problem.

These intractable conflicts are ones that have continued unresolved and seem stuck in their levels of intensity and destructiveness. People tend to strike out at what is different, what they fear, which is bad when what we fear is each other.
It’s worse when we give in to that fear, give in to that desire to inflict as much harm, physical and psychological, on each other as possible. For so many this constant sense of threat and hostility pervades everyday life and overrides our ability to recognize any shared concerns.

For a nation renowned for embracing the different, some in the U.S. seem to have lost sight of this within our own walls. Where will her huddled masses go if Liberty’s torch grows dim?

I live in New York City, and twice within my lifetime, we’ve been a target. It’s a very sobering thing to have at the back of my mind that the physical symbolism of Liberty, if not all she stands for, could be blown out by force?

And considering the current clime…

So many nations flexing power with malice, not peace. We as a people seem to be doing more and more of separating ourselves from each other than coming together. 

Earth would never be admitted as a member of the United Federation of Planets as we stand now.

Slice of Life Writing Challenge – Day 7 – Two Writing Teachers