E Pluribus Unum

[handmade34]

"Out of many, one"





a good idea thwarted by a few?

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

1. It's proto-fascist

Right down to the "fascio" of arrows on the eagles talon.

Sorry... it's not a great idea. It's something somebody thought was a tough slogan.

The elimination of the individual is not really our highest aspiration.

This is not a hive.

[handmade34]

2. I don't consider it the elimination of the individual

and my understanding is that the originators did not either. Is this your interpretation of the original intent?

"The Olive branch and arrows denote the power of peace & war which is exclusively vested in Congress"

[Kurt_and_Hunter]

3. It was cool at the time

I do not think the founders had bad intent. The idea of a state composed of the people was a lot better than a king.

But looking back at it, the idea is creepy because we have seen the potential of "from many, one" with the one being the state. (I suspect it had more to do with binding 13 quasi-independent colonies.)

It is natural that there was no way to move from monarchy to something Jeffersonian and the fact of war makes a hypothetical state with no fascist-leanings a short-lived sitting duck.

No way around it.

But I don't care for it as a slogan today.

In any event, I don't put much weight behind any of the trappings of our early state. The Constitution is somewhat at odds with E Pluribus Unum and that's the real expression of our state. (On paper...)