FLOYD COUNTY — Kentucky has a good motto. They believe in “United We Stand: Divided We Fall.” It works for them, but a century or so ago it took years for the Hatfield family to unite with the McCoy clan over in West Virginia. Now, Kentucky [outside of Louisville] is re-united because the UK basketball team is back to number one again. They won the NCAA tournament and all the glory that goes along with it. Years ago, Kentuckians were smart enough to understand that battles on a basketball court saved more lives than did fussing and feuding with their neighbors. However, they still feud with some other states such as Indiana. They can’t agree on a basketball schedule.

Kentucky has produced some mighty fine American emancipators including Abraham Lincoln and Muhammad Ali to name two. There are others who became famous after moving to the Bluegrass. Colonel Sanders learned to fry chicken there, and John Calipari recently marched to the Final Four, similar to what General Sherman did when he marched through the south and burned Atlanta, which helped re-unite our nation.

The United(?) States is now divided in half and desperately needs to unite again. How did we ever get into this second civil war? Well, it appears that during the long evolutionary process two distinct political parties developed, half with liberal genes and the other half with strong conservative DNA. This distinction is as pronounced as is the structural difference between a man and a woman. Over time, these tendencies solidified resulting in a situation similar to trying to get lions to lie down peacefully with lambs. For comparative purposes, let’s call liberals, little lambs and conservatives the kings of the beasts. Obviously, innocent lambs must rely on government for protection, whereas fierce lions form corporations to combat governmental intrusion, regulation and heavy taxation.

We were the strongest nation on earth. History tells us that when most empires fall, it’s from a division within. You don’t see Americans at pep rallies shouting, “We’re number one.” Compared to developing countries, we now rank significantly down the list in several categories such as infant mortality, life expectancy and education. The British “Economist” ranks the U.S. 41st in life expectancy, and we’re not even ranked in the top 12 in student performance.

 The Pew Research Center, which conducts surveys of national values and opinions, recently found that the political division in the U.S. has grown significantly during the past 25 years. In 1987, the gap between Democrats and Republicans on how they assessed the scope and performance of government was six points. The latest survey reveals it is now 33 points. The disparity and polarization between the two parties has widened dramatically in areas such as support for the social safety net, regulating the financial industry and protecting the environment. Is either party doing anything about the growing $15 trillion national debt? It’s a deep and wide values gap. Whatever happened to the one basic core value maintaining that America is the land of opportunity?

With the presidential election under way, our nation’s dire problems are on hold for about five more months. Jobs will have to wait, because the two presidential candidates must tell you how their job creation plan will work, provided Congress cooperates. They won’t. Our Congress ranks below the one that Egypt doesn’t have.

What will it take to unite us? Is it possible that sports could be the catalyst? A basketball team united Kentucky. Communities across our land unite whenever a local high school pursues a state championship. Liberal parents sit in the stands with conservatives, and if the team marches to victory, the parents hug. If Republican John Boehner, speaker of the house, and Democrat Harry Reid, majority leader of the Senate, would ever hug at the middle of the road on TV, the symbolism would be mind-boggling. Try something, anything, but forget compromise. How often we hear, “I’ll never compromise my principles.” I won’t either unless I should.

Could a horse bring us together? Ann Romney, wife of candidate Mitt Romney, co-owns Rafalca, a horse trying to make the London Olympics in the dressage category. A true American would never wish a well-dressed horse bad luck. What if voters rallied around Rafalca, and, in support of family values, Mitt Romney, had to go to England during the heated presidential campaign? The election could turn toward him.

Democracy survives on some of the most absurd things, but to fall would be the dumbest thing we ever did.



Contact Terry Cummins at TLCTLC@AOL.com.