In a recent blog conversation someone stated “This country is almost too divided to be saved at this point”. I found this sentiment alarming.

It’s been many years since we have seen war on our own soil so I suppose it is not a surprise that we have forgotten the lessons learned in our own Revolutionary and Civil Wars. Through these wars we increased our independence and freedom and historically, we have pulled together, given sacrificially and laid down our very lives for these cherished values.

During the Great Depression, once again, Americans managed to do without and help each other survive. We clung to our ideals and our values, realizing they had been bought at a high price. We blasted into World War II, arm in arm and with blood, sweat and lots of tears emerging triumphant. There have been many times in our history that we have gone above and beyond, reaching into our very souls to grasp something more valuable than merely making a buck.

Remember 911, a tragic day in our recent past, what was it that happened to us on that day? My answer is simple, but not easy. It is UNITY. We came together around a common cause that was greater than ourselves, greater than our needs, greater than our special interests with requirements that exceeded any one of our capabilities so that for a brief time we realized something that we seem to try daily to forget, we need each other.

So here’s my question, I know we are struggling with the phrase “under God” in our national pledge because we no longer share that sentiment as a nation. Is it also time to remove “united” from our name, the United States of America, because we really are not?