Why Being "Us" Matters
Why Being “Us” Matters
Jack Trammell, Ph.D.
It’s hard to look at my undergraduate students at the end of this fall semester and not have a great deal of trepidation and outright anxiety about the world they are inheriting. In the current world, I have tenure and they can take another class with me in the spring; I can choose the books they are assigned; I can discuss A.I. in the abstract and they aren’t frightened by the historical analogs; we can discuss globalization and diversity without fear of reprisal; we can engage in critical arguments about social justice and the welfare state; we can embrace the value of education for gainful employment and as an end in and of itself; we can discuss and debate the privileges of being American and/or studying in the United States.
But that is all possibly coming to an abrupt end. What exactly, they want to know, does it mean to be “us” these days?? And why should we protect it?
Normally, I would coach my undergraduate students on the merits of “NOT just being ‘us’” but instead being global citizens with an obligation to the greater human good that transcends identity politics (ex. being “American,” or being young or old, etc.) But with grinding war in Eastern Europe by proxy, renewed fighting in the Middle East, threats in the Asian Pacific region, protests all over the globe, and even very real domestic threats in the U.S.A. (according to F.B.I. Director Wray and others), it’s very difficult to resist the allure of protectionism, security, and an understandable desire to fall back on being on the “right side.” Safety and comfort are seductive companions.
But the world is not safe. America is not safe. And we must ask “what it means to be us.”
The recent protests on college and university campuses over the war in the Middle East illustrate the perils of defaulting to platitudes and simplicities. There are innocent people dying on all sides. It’s not good enough to be on the right side anymore. The world has “grown up” and we can’t escape our connections to “others” of all types. And still, my students keep asking me “why does being us matter?” and I feel a strong obligation to reply to them in some meaningful way, shape, or form. I can’t tell them “I don’t have an answer!” (That’s not acceptable for a Ph.D. with tenure, or a privileged white American male…)
As a sociologist, I have to go back to the “us” (and not the classic “I” and “me,” with all due respect to George Herbet Mead). I am looking at twenty-five people in front of me in my American university classroom that represent at least five major faith traditions; at least five different gender identifications; three with dual citizenship; seven with at least one parent born in another country; five that are first generation college students; a multiplicity of racial and ethnic backgrounds that I can’t and won’t guess at; some legacy students from wealthy alumni parents; and all of them are paying a significant amount to obtain a liberal arts bachelor’s degree at my institution. And they are here to get the answer to “what does it mean to be us?”
I suppose if you’ve read this far, or if you’re one of my students, you are demanding an answer. So here goes… To be us, in my opinion, means to be true to timeless American/human values: protect and cling to our fragile democracy; be slow to judge others and quick to assist those in need; embrace the value of education; cherish libertarian freedoms (like choosing my own textbooks for classes); try to make your voice be heard. And most of all, remember that the “us” we strive so hard to find automatically creates the “them” and perpetuates many of the things we all agree are destructive and unprofitable.
But the world is not likely to stop for pleasant discussions like this. In a democracy, you must vote to sustain the “us” and make your voice heard. That is how the “why being us” question really matters.
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Jack Trammell is a professor, author, entrepreneur, and former (future) candidate for Congress in the Virginia 5th Congressional District. He can be reached at [email protected]
