Our nation’s motto carries a simple but profound truth: from many, one. But have we considered what that means beyond the context of the United States as a nation? What does E Pluribus Unum look like in our states? In our parties? In the factions within our parties? Is there a place to understand the value of E Pluribus Unum within the factions of the Republican Party?
Some among us are fiercely committed to their individual conscience, their individual voice, their individual vote. And rightly so. Liberty-minded people understand that these things cannot be surrendered without cost. We were made to think for ourselves, to wrestle with ideas, to discover truth and apply it according to our own judgment. That commitment is not a weakness. It is the very foundation of self-governance and a free people.
But here is the tension we face: individual conviction, however principled, does not translate into political will without finding common ground, without consolidation. We cannot govern our states and nation well through fragmentation. We cannot advance the cause of freedom if we are so committed to our individual purity that we prevent the oneness necessary to defeat those who oppose our convictions altogether.
The answer, I believe, is not to choose between individual conscience and collective strength. Both are true. Both are necessary. The missing link is understanding the seasons.
There is a season for wrestling, for wrestling with convictions individually, for discovering truth, for testing ideas against one another and vetting as many candidates as possible against your convictions. This season has value. We should never rush it or diminish it. But there is also a season for finding common ground. A season where we ask ourselves: what convictions do we actually share? And among the viable options before us, which one comes closest to those shared convictions while also carrying enough momentum that we can consolidate our will and move together?
Tomorrow is the Iowa primary. We have done our wrestling. We have discovered our convictions. Now we must consider E Pluribus Unum: many voices, many perspectives, but find unity in our will to advance the cause of freedom.
While my curiosity was piqued, I was not initially drawn to Zach Lahn; I was lockstep behind “my guy.” But as I have read the room, evaluated the field, and considered viability alongside conviction, I have come to believe he is the non-establishment candidate who holds enough of my convictions that I can authentically consolidate with others behind him. He carries the momentum necessary for us to achieve the oneness we need to defeat the establishment candidate. No candidate is perfect. But we must identify the candidate closest to our shared convictions who is also viable enough to win.
I am asking you to do the same math. Wrestling season is over. The season of consolidation is here. Our Republic rightly rewards unity and punishes division, stripping it of its power and leaving its convictions unrepresented. E Pluribus Unum.
- Lauren Gideon
