OPINION: US Citizens Must Unite

United States citizens should spend more time coming together and working toward solutions to our issues rather than allowing ourselves to be divided. Dividing ourselves into categories defined by labels such as far-left, centrist, and far-right removes our power as a united group.

More so today than I can remember, dating back to the mid-1970s, a strong faction is genuinely opposed to what the United States of America can produce and accomplish if we came together and presented a unified front.

To Overpower A Large Group, Break It Into Smaller Ones

If the goal is to conquer a large group, it is common knowledge that you should do your best to divide a unified group into smaller factions. Better yet, create a situation where the separate groups recognize and believe in the divisions and work vigorously (even violently against each other) to maintain the divisions.

This situation results in the spokesperson for one of the divisions and their followers publically speaking out against the other divisions. Of course, this is healthy and can strengthen the overall group if the objections are kept internal and not leaked to a larger, opposing, and perhaps equally formidable group.

Such a leak is powerful ammunition for the opposition. Strategic use of such divisive opinions from insiders can lead to a quick fall from power.

They don't want to see us unite:

all they want us to do is keep on fussing and fighting.

They don't want to see us live together:

all they want us to do is keep on killing one another.

— Bob Marley

Smaller Units Are Easy To Obliterate

You would agree that no human can snap a healthy, mature pine tree into pieces with only their bare hands, correct? But what if we could change the scenario and turn that pine tree into toothpicks? Thereby dividing the once strong and unified tree into much smaller units - toothpicks. 

Then, it is easy to snap that pine tree into bits of dust with your bare hands and with little effort. One toothpick at a time, the pine trees are destroyed.

Get the idea? Splinter the massive, powerful, wealthy, intelligent, unified force known as the United States of America into smaller groups or even into individuals, and use a team of three to take out each individual until they are no longer threats or eliminated. A three-on-one battle ensures victory for the attacking group.

Change The Rules Of Socially Acceptable Behavior

Another strategy involves changing the rules of social behavior. For example, create a scenario where everyone is right based solely on their feelings. Just because you disagree with a particular set of facts does not immediately make your opinion correct.

Allowing all people to be "right" based on their emotional response to the events creates a paradigm where emotional responses are equal to those using facts and concrete evidence. Moreover, allowing people to use only their fanaticism and emotions to question and disrespect persons in positions of authority will only continue to divide us. 

Empowering Ignorant and Emotion-Based Inquiry

When authority is questioned, and this line of questioning is hyped up by presenting a limited scope of information and appeals to emotion rather than reason, a breakdown of trust is imminent. Public acceptance of disrespectful behavior results in disrespect toward all. This includes all you may encounter, from the stranger on the street to your family members.

Accepting this disrespectful behavior, the belief that all people in positions of authority should be publically questioned (even in front of the opponent) and the subsequent breakdown in the chain of command can splinter even the most robust units.

We Must Remain Vigilant And Focused

Those wanting to destroy what we have are all around us, bombarding us with false information and the promise of a better life. Breaking down the unified group into smaller groups. Convincing the smaller groups that the others are responsible for their woes.

This allows our opponents to infiltrate the smaller groups, and unless they are stopped immediately, the larger group is open to an attack from within. This attack might begin with adjusting what is acceptable behavior. Changing the landscape, empowering ignorant questioning, honoring those who engage in disrespectful behavior, and allowing emotion, not rational evidence-based, to define what is "right."

The only chance a country or a large group that functions best when unified has is to remain vigilant and focused on staying unified. Members must shun public defiance of the group's principles by dissenters and keep confederates from becoming members or maintaining membership.

I hope some event unifies us and "forces" us all to identify solely as Americans without the ridiculous classifications (far-left, left, left-center, center, right-center, right, far-right), just AMERICAN and proud. 

When unified, we can kick the opposition's butt and protect our way of life.