Coalition without controversy

 When I think of division, I am reminded of the Grand Canyon.

One rim in the foreground, and the opposite rim in the distance. Ten or so miles away, as the crow flies, but hundreds by any effective road or a day or two of hiking down and then up.

Important question: Which side of the canyon is responsible for this great division? 

Of course, neither side could be responsible. It's obviously the river below.

But what's the answer for the ideological division from which we suffer more and more in this millennium? Who or what has caused it?

In the sixteen year of 42 and 43, our division was small compared to the massive gap of today. So, did 44 divide us (as some claim), or was it 45 (as others proclaim)? Conversely, could 46 pull us together, unite us? Neither and no.

A division cannot, by definition, be caused, nor can it be healed by either side. Division comes from some other force, something which belongs simultaneously to neither side and yet to both.

The answer is obvious for the canyon. For millennia, the Colorado River greedily sucked in the ground on either side of it, as it worked its way deeper and deeper, until it is a full mile below the two rims, which are separated by ten miles or more. The river itself belongs to neither rim, and yet is connected to both.

Does no middle ground remain? Certainly not in the canyon.

Standing on either rim, it's easy to think that this is the right place to be. The other side is so remote. And the cause of the division is itself no longer even in sight!

I believe this analogy is very apt. We cannot see the cause of our division. We can only sense the magnitude and depth of it. And it must have begun long ago.

As one who has tried to remain neutral, it is getting harder and harder. I am in the middle in the sense that I have friends and family firmly lodged on each side. I feel like Wile E. Coyote, standing on what was once the solid middle ground, confused, then looking down and seeing the void. For a moment, I will remain here. But my position is not sustainable. I am now looking at the camera and must fall.

It would be much more comfortable standing on solid ground. But it has eroded away here where I want to stand.

Sure, I could heed the call to unity from one side by going over and joining it. But then I would be too far away from my friends on the other side. And I can't just join the other side, for same reason.

My moment suspended over the void can actually last a long time, because the canyon analogy isn't the only one.

I feel like I'm standing on the edge of a knife. It's sharp and it hurts, but staying here keeps me from sliding down either of the two slippery slopes. And from here I can at least see all of the people I care about, even if I can't be rubbing shoulders with them.

Let's come together by focussing on our commonality. We are all products of our "Creator" (whether you believe this to be a personal God, some ineffable supreme being, or mindless random evolution), which is the origin of our "unalienable Rights [to] Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."

Do we not hold this to be self-evident? Do we not? We cannot let these rights be taken away by government (which was established to protect them), or any ideology, or any well-meaning international consortium.

Can we not create a coalition, leaving behind all this controversy? This post is a call to coalition without controversy.