Note: Reflection by Liz Sorensen Wessel
“‘E Pluribus Unum’ was the motto proposed for the first Great Seal of the United States by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson in 1776. A Latin phrase meaning "One from many," the phrase offered a strong statement of the American determination to form a single nation from a collection of states."
“Over the years, "E Pluribus Unum" has also served as a reminder of America's bold attempt to make one unified nation of people from many different backgrounds and beliefs."
“The challenge of seeking unity while respecting diversity has played a critical role in shaping our history, our literature, and our national character.” The E Pluribus Unum Project, http://www1.assumption.edu/ahc/
As celebrations draw near and festivities begin, it serves us well to pause and remember the brave men and women who held fast an ideal in their minds and a dream in their hearts with such conviction that they were willing to lay down their lives and pay the ultimate price for our freedom.
Our founding fathers proclaimed, these now famous words, in the Declaration of Independence, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” They offer us inspiration to strive to live and protect these ideals. In the current climate of random violence it is increasing difficult to take these cherished freedoms for granted. Each of us has a part to play, an assignment, a gift to share; a calling to participate in the healing of our world. What is your hearts’ calling?
This mighty oak is over 400 years old and is grounded in an enduring quality to connect the past to our present with possibilities of a new future. E Pluribus Unum symbolizes the strength that is forged through the bonds of unity. The recognition that together we are greater than the sum of our parts. Yet somehow we have forgotten. Our discourse has become shallow, filled with labels that objectify and judge and often inflames divisiveness rather than meaningful exploration. These are harrowing times that feed on our fear.
Just as the oak tree has many branches growing in different directions, they all share the same deep roots. There are many paths and yet they all lead to One universal truth.
The below verse from 1 Corinthians: 12 from affirms this as well.
There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; 5 there are different forms of service but the same Lord; 6 there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. 7 To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit. 8 To one is given through the Spirit the expression of wisdom; to another the expression of knowledge according to the same Spirit; 9 to another faith by the same Spirit; to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit; 10 to another mighty deeds; to another prophecy; to another discernment of spirits; to another varieties of tongues; to another interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing them individually to each person as he wishes.
One Body, Many Parts. 12 As a body is one though it has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body, so also Christ.13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons, and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.”
14 Now the body is not a single part, but many. 15 If a foot should say, “Because I am not a hand I do not belong to the body,” it does not for this reason belong any less to the body. 16 Or if an ear should say, “Because I am not an eye I do not belong to the body,” it does not for this reason belong any less to the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body we’re hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But as it is, God placed the parts, each one of them, in the body as he intended. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 But as it is, there are many parts, yet one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I do not need you.” 22 Indeed, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are all the more necessary, 23 and those parts of the body that we consider less honorable we surround with greater honor, and our less presentable parts are treated with greater propriety, 24 whereas our more presentable parts do not need this. But God has so constructed the body as to give greater honor to a part that is without it, 25 so that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same concern for one another.26 If [one] part suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy.
The E Pluribus Unum Project website offers some fabulous reflection questions for contemplation and perhaps may spur further discussion. See below:
How have Americans understood what it means to be "many"? Are Americans distinct from one another because of differences of nationality, class, gender, race, religion, occupation, the region in which they live, or other factors? Are some of these differences more significant at particular times than others, and why?
How have Americans defined unity, and how have they attempted to achieve it? Does "unity" mean everyone must agree, or that everyone must act in the same way? Are there any characteristics or beliefs that all who claim to be Americans must have in common?
Have Americans ever questioned whether it is possible to make "many" into "one? Have Americans ever questioned the willingness of other Americans to strive towards that ideal?
How do Americans negotiate with one another when they must overcome their differences? Are there distinctively American ways of debating, and distinctively American arguments used in debates? Do any of these methods and appeals reflect the periods in which they were used; do they reflect a distinctively American way of dealing with differences?
Liz Sorensen Wessel
Mighty Oak; Sonoma, CA
