Despite the overwhelming amount of disagreement in 2020 the one thing that is seemingly in consensus, is that this year is one of constant trouble. The death of icons in the entertainment world, or various natural disasters, a global pandemic, topped off with racial and policing disputes across the nation. 2020 seems like the year that continues to kick you while being down. This constant onslaught of negative news begs for the question to be asked, why is it so bad?

Throughout history, there has been no stronger unity between the people of this nation then when we have faced adversity. Problems and struggle have always brought us closer together in many regards. It was seen a lot this year especially in the early stages of this year. Basketball fans were brought together to mourn the loss of one of the games greatest players. Communities rallied behind their health care workers as the worked through terrible shifts and subpar conditions to help keep a lid on a new virus. Where did it go wrong? How did we lose the sense of unity and shared struggle?

The answer quite simply is politics, but not in the way you would think. It isn’t one party or the other, it’s the fact that we even have parties. Our strength comes in the form of unity. The idea of “we the people” is what makes us strong.

The key word is we. There is strength as a nation, not as halves. How can we be the “United States” while also being fractured into two arbitrary colors? Supporting a system which breeds laziness and settling for mediocrity. Being pushed into a category and being told that you are supporting progress or supporting the conservation of principles the nation was founded on. To assume a choice needs to be made is ignorance in its purest form. There is a lack of understanding to assume, that progress cannot be made without supporting some of the ideals that initially built the nation we live in, or to stipulate that our initial ideals cannot be maintained while trying to strive for progress.

The nation we call home was not founded on partisan politics; it was forged through compromise. To push and pull, finding a difficult line of balance along a constantly shifting and undulating premise that sets the scene for a complex utopia that we strive for. Trying to find the balance between government power, state power and people power. Ultimately, one of those three items should stand out. The power of us as a people is determined through our strengths and successes but built upon our failures. As we continue to move forward through the rest of 2020, try to remind yourself and others that we are not defined by our disagreements but rather by what we have in common.