From the 1st Chapter of the book of Isaiah, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”
The scripture cited above is one of my favorites. It reflects (for me) the basis for human unity; that is to say, reason rather than emotion. I think that the Lord I worship recognizes that emotion exacerbates the differences that divide us whereas reason allows us to focus on our commonalities.
That said, reason has its limits. First and foremost, reason may disappear in an instant where emotion arises to stoke the fires of fear and anger. Secondly, deeply entrenched beliefs about the “other” may disallow the use of reason.
When our nation’s founders set about to establish the first government of these United States, they were hampered by the deep divisions which existed between the thirteen former colonies. For a detailed examination of the issues that divided them, I refer you to https://www.history.com/topics/early-us/articles-of-confederation.
Although the document’s title referred to the “United States,” the body of the document indicated several evidences of division. I will leave it to the reader to ascertain what those divisions were. My next post will be to determine and present the differences between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution of the United States.
United We Stand 