The One and the Many : America's Struggle for the Common Good

"E pluribus unum" no longer holds. Out of the many have come as many claims and grievances, all at war with the idea of one nation undivided. This text gives a judicious account of how the body politic has been torn between the imperative of one people, one voice and the separate urgings of distinct identities - racial, ethnic, religious, gendered, ideological, and economic. While the grand story of oneness is elusive, the text reminds the reader that there is a growing and ever more inclusive repertory of myths, symbols and histories on which to draw. The author envisions steps one might take to carry America past the new turbulence.