{"id":15468,"date":"2020-11-06T21:27:21","date_gmt":"2020-11-06T21:27:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mediashower.com\/blog\/?p=15468"},"modified":"2020-12-08T19:39:13","modified_gmt":"2020-12-08T19:39:13","slug":"e-pluribus-unum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/e-pluribus-unum\/","title":{"rendered":"E Pluribus Unum"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have a dream for the next four years. It\u2019s one word: unity<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m writing this from the United States of America, where unity is literally part of our name<\/em>. (It\u2019s not called the Bickering States of America.)<\/p>\n

Unity does not mean that everyone agrees on every issue. To the contrary, unity means thoughtful disagreement, finding the truth together \u2013 in service of a greater whole.<\/p>\n

That whole may be called the \u201csoul\u201d of a nation. It is an ideal, a greater purpose. It\u2019s the national DNA, the spirit of the country, deeply woven into our minds and hearts.<\/p>\n

In the United States, we still have these ideals. They are the values that are passed down from generation to generation: hard work, equal opportunity, a spirit of innovation. We are the \u201cLand of Opportunity,\u201d the \u201cGreat Melting Pot,\u201d the \u201cLand of the Free and the Home of the Brave.\u201d<\/p>\n

To be sure, the United States is not perfect. We glorify war, starting with our own War of Independence. Much of our economy was built on the backs of slaves. We have often acted as the World Police<\/a>. The United States is a human invention, and humans are works in progress.<\/p>\n

But there can be no doubt that the founders intended us to be the United<\/em> States of America. It\u2019s right there in the name.<\/p>\n

E pluribus unum<\/em>: \u201cout of the many, one.\u201d It\u2019s literally on our money. <\/em><\/p>\n


\n\"e<\/center><\/p>\n

The Great American Experiment<\/h2>\n

Last fall, a group of Stanford political scientists created a project called America in One Room<\/a>. They got 500 Americans in one room, from all across the political spectrum, and engaged them in true dialogue and debate with each other. They called it \u201cDeliberative Democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The New York Times <\/em>interviewed these Americans one year later<\/a>, and the results seemed to stick. Because they had developed a habit of listening to each other, these Americans were less likely to mindlessly accept their party line. One of the project organizers explained how it changed people: \u201cYou think a little bit more about the issues. You ask questions. You deliberate, even if you only do it with yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n

This habit of \u201clistening and thinking\u201d is a good habit for us to learn. It is the fix for one of the worst habits of our time, which is a neurotic fixation on what divides us, instead of what unites us.<\/p>\n

This bad habit is what makes us willing to fight like crazy on a handful of issues (abortion, gun control, immigration), while ignoring potentially bigger issues (education, artificial intelligence, and cloning). If ever there were room for debate, for fresh voices and new choices, it is in these next-generation issues\u2014but we\u2019re stuck in the same old habit loops.<\/p>\n

The dividing of the world into \u201cus\u201d versus \u201cthem\u201d is a bad habit. Today it is so common as to be a reflex. My political party is right, yours is wrong. My clever tweet will show you how dumb yours is. When a leader speaks, we immediately think, What an idiot.<\/em><\/p>\n

Why do we do this? Because it helps us feel superior. <\/em><\/p>\n

Talking about the idiot who runs the [fill in the blank] just reinforces our own sense of superiority. That feels good. It\u2019s like complaining about your spouse to your friends, or tearing down your co-workers behind their back. It has literally the same effect on happiness and productivity.<\/p>\n

The \u201cAmerica In One Room\u201d experiment is an example of reframing this view. It is a new model. Instead of \u201cus versus them,\u201d it\u2019s all \u201cus.\u201d Within that \u201cus,\u201d there is still room for disagreement and thoughtful debate. It\u2019s not about changing minds!<\/em> Everyone can still hold the same view at the end of the day. We can agree to disagree. But we\u2019re listening and thinking.<\/p>\n

That makes us stronger and better, because we\u2019re serving a higher purpose. E pluribus unum<\/em>.<\/p>\n


\n\"e
\n<\/center><\/p>\n

It\u2019s On the Money<\/h2>\n

Why did the governments of yesteryear put that motto on U.S. money? Because they realized that unity brings prosperity<\/em>.<\/p>\n

War destroys value<\/a>. Fighting drains energy. Bickering and arguing \u2013 as we all know from personal experience \u2013 is time-consuming and exhausting. Like a dysfunctional family reunion, as the country has grown more divided, the country has also grown more tired.<\/p>\n

Peace brings prosperity<\/a>. When we are working in harmony, like a good family or a well-run team, we can accomplish much more than we can accomplish alone. Unity creates efficiency: we are faster, better, stronger. The whole becomes greater than the sum of its parts.<\/p>\n

Unity gives energy. Partners in a happy marriage accomplish more than mates on the brink of divorce. Companies with high-performing teams are more successful than companies with politics and backbiting. Good partnerships are more productive than partners who are suing each other.<\/p>\n

But unity is also more fun. If you\u2019ve ever been part of a great team \u2013 in sports, business, or your personal life \u2013 you know that it\u2019s a pleasure. The work becomes worthwhile. When we are contributing to something greater than ourselves, it gives our lives purpose and meaning.<\/p>\n

Do you retain your individuality? Yes. Are you part of something bigger? Yes. We can hold both in our minds. Just as we can be \u201cunited states,\u201d we can be \u201cunited individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n
\"United

It\u2019s literally on the seal of the United States Senate.<\/p><\/div>
\n<\/center><\/p>\n

One Nation, One Money, One World<\/h2>\n

In our world of blockchain investing, I spend a lot of time talking about unity (One World, One Money<\/a>). This is because I know that unity brings prosperity<\/em>. The best way for us to create a global financial system is to agree that we\u2019re creating a global financial system<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Then we will be unstoppable.<\/p>\n


\n\"Back<\/center><\/p>\n

Over the next four years, the United States has the opportunity to lead this new global financial system. If we don\u2019t, someone else will. This is inevitable. We already live in a global economy; we just need the global money to make it easier. It\u2019s simple and obvious.<\/p>\n

But the United States cannot take the lead in unifying the world until we unify ourselves.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve got to get together for a common purpose, to serve our ideals despite our differences. That starts in our hearts. It starts at the individual level, avoiding the bad habit of carving the world into \u201cme vs. you,\u201d and learning the good habit of \u201clistening and thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n

If bitcoin were a physical coin, E pluribus unum<\/em> would be a good motto to put on its face. Because it\u2019s not just a slogan for America. It\u2019s a motto for the world.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re many and varied, but we\u2019re one human race. Out of the many, one. E pluribus unum.<\/em><\/p>\n

John Hargrave is CEO of Media Shower, and bestselling author of <\/em>Blockchain Success Stories: Case Studies from the Leading Edge of Business<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have a dream for the next four years. It\u2019s one word: unity. I\u2019m writing this from the United States of America, where unity is literally part of our name. (It\u2019s not called the Bickering States of America.) Unity does not mean that everyone agrees on every issue. To the contrary, unity means thoughtful disagreement,… Read More…<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15469,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[459],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15468"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15468"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15468\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15471,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15468\/revisions\/15471"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15469"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15468"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15468"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mediashower.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15468"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}