The Power of One!!

E Pluribus Unum – Out of Many, One

I ask….has there ever been another phrase that so eloquently described the overall will and fortitude of America and each one of her collective inhabitants? While such a question might be next to impossible to answer, given the countless moments of unprecedented brilliance this country has endured, the relevancy and overall impact of such simplistic slogans has and will continue to to have an impact on the true spirit of endearing American statesmanship and patronage.

Established under the banner of declared 1776 independence, E Pluribus Unum, was first instilled as a means of collectivizing the combined efforts of thirteen independent colonies, each seeking freedom from the perceived obligatory forces of the British Kingdom. While it would be completely outlandish to excuse the effects rigid devotion, patriotic fervor, and a keen sense of opportunistic self-determination played in the finalization of America’s recognized existence, E Pluribus Unum, and its call for broad individual unification, not only helped secure victory in 1783, but also assisted in ushering in a new establishment of ideals, the likes of which would soon prove adventages.

This new “mindset” with its emphasis on individual recognition and empowerment, not only helped to forever alter status quo politics, but ultimately assisted in the shaping of a revolutionary system of governance, whereby individuals not hierarchically imposed units would maintain the autonomy of true political prestige. However, this system when fully employed would prove effective where others had not, for it demonstrated the ability to capitalize inventively, on the combined efforts of citizen sustained political power, and that of institutionalized democratic republicanism. And thus the combining agents of E Pluribus Unum were internally forged.

Ever since its profound inception, the effects of E Pluribus Unum has been on display all throughout America’s cherished history. Thomas Jefferson in recognizing its euphoric power implemented several references to the strength “out of many, one” could have when he wrote in the Declaration of Independence,

“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation”.

Jefferson went on to further explain his belief in this grounding principle when he further stated,

“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.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness”.

In a similar albeit more binding fashion, the United States Constitution, with all its meticulous intricacies, espouses similar calls for properly derived authority when it declares,

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America”.

While both examples presented share a historical undertone, the underlying factor of timelessness as it relates to E Pluribus Unum still firmly exists. Although nearly 232 years have passed since its initial emersion into the waters of American political baptism, the ability “one” can have when united in cause and purpose is still riveting. Perhaps it was this precise method of thought that lead Norman Cousins to assert that, “In a democracy, the individual enjoys not only the ultimate power but carries the ultimate responsibility”.

"And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country. - John F. Kennedy