America’s First, Best Idea

E Pluribus Unum. “Out of many, one.”

The phrase E pluribus unum was first used in a document by John Dickinson, a delegate from Delaware, in 1776. It gained popularity and was later adopted on the Great Seal of the United States in 1782. The phrase reflects the idea of unity among the diverse states and populations of the nation.

As the original motto of the United States, the phrase appears on the Great Seal, U.S. coins, and various official documents.

It reflects the federal system of government and America’s identity as a nation of immigrants. It emphasizes unity in diversity — the coming together of different states and cultures to form a single nation.

[Aside: The modern motto, In God We Trust, would have been anathema to the founders, but in the religious 1950s USA it served as a strong, propagandistic response to “atheistic Communism.”]

And where are we now?

The current administration, through the Department of Labor, is paraphrasing the least diverse, most anti‑diverse group of white supremacists in the 20th century.

Take a look at the following that the DOL posted on X:

The slogan Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer (“One People, One Country, One Leader”) was one of the central slogans used by Hitler and the Nazi Party. The DOL slogan — “One Homeland. One People. One Heritage.” — is eerily reminiscent. But perhaps this is just another one of those same‑phrases‑the‑Nazis‑used coincidences again, right?

But Americans are NOT all from one homeland.

Americans are NOT one heritage.

And with the divisions that beset the nation today and the “us-them” attitude of the current administration, we are hard‑pressed to defend the idea that we are one people.

In fact, what makes us truly American is that we come from all over the world. As Ronald Reagan said in 1988:

…you can go to live in France, but you can’t become a Frenchman. You can go to live in Germany, but you can’t become a German. You can go to live in Japan or Turkey, and you cannot become Japanese or Turkish. But anyone, from any corner of the world, can come to live in the United States and become an American…

We used to say that the USA was a melting pot, but I like Tod Maffin’s idea of the country being more like a quilt:

In quilting, every piece keeps its own colour and texture. A quilt has pulled in fabric from everywhere: an old shirt, a pair of jeans, a kid’s jacket — and stitched them into something strong and beautiful. Not melted down, not erased, but held together…

The founders gave us a motto that imagined a nation made from many stories. We honor them — and ourselves — when we stitch those stories together instead of pretending they don’t exist.