E Pluribus Unum

The United States of America has had, and still has, several mottos.

How many of you knew that?

In 1782, Congress approved "E Pluribus Unum" as the motto to be engraved on the first Great Seal of America.

It was originally proposed by Pierre Eugene DuSimitiere, who was a "Swiss-American," even though there was no such thing as a hyphenated American in those days.

"E" is actually Latin for "out of," or "from."

"Pluribus" is Latin for "many."

"Unum" means "one."

So the motto means: "From among many, one."

How often have you heard the United States of America referred to as "a melting pot."

This is where the idea comes from.

Regrettably, we have spent the last twenty or so years turning this around.

A melting pot is a large metal container in which one places two or more elements which are heated until they melt together making one substance, no part of which bears any resemblance to the original elements placed in the pot.

For instance, if one puts candle wax in a pot with food coloring, the result is a candle, not two separate hunks of wax and color.

That is what we are supposed to be, as a nation.

We are not to be Mexicans, Italians, Frenchmen, Irishmen, Iranians, Latvians, Ugandans and others, all living in their diverse cultures in one country, rather we are supposed to be an amalgamation of different cultures into one great culture called "Americans."

When my ancestors migrated to this country, some from Russia, they did not form a Russian neighborhood, with Russian culture, Russian language, Russian schools, etc.

No, they learned the English language, moved south, set up shops and learned how to melt and meld into a unified society.

My Irish ancestors, likewise moved south, set up shops and learned how to melt and meld into a unified society.

One of the ways they melded was through inter-marriage...with each other!

Otherwise, I would not be here.

Some might have preferred this.

But I digress.

"E Pluribus Unum" has, by design, 13 letters in it, representing the original 13 colonies.

Did you know that congress also approved three other mottos, which remain to this day?

They are: "Annuit Coeptis," which means, "God Favors Our Beginning," "Novus Ordo Seclorum," which means, "A New Order of the Ages," and "In God We Trust," which means, "In God We Trust."

The latter was adopted by Congress in 1956 under Title 36, Subtitle I, Part A, Chapter 3, Section 302 of the Congressional Record.

It is the law of the land.

See, that we are to be a united nation, not a nation of diverse cultures, is the reason we call ourselves "The United States of America.

The first job of our government, including Senators like John McAinus and Lindsay Graham-Cracker, is to take steps to insure that we are UNITED.

"We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect state of cultural diversity..." is NOT a part of our Constitution's preamble.

"We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union..." IS.