What do you think keeps this nation of disparate people unified?

In one speech Lincoln says he often ponders "what great principle or idea it was" that kept the nation together. What do you think keeps this nation of disparate people unified?

The key is education. We need to be exposed in personal ways to people who are different than we are in a mature spirit of interest of learning more. The banning of books and the attempt to homogenize formal education scares me greatly. We need to do much better by our children. We need to stop teaching them to fear "The Other"
just because they are unfamiliar.

What a great question! I like to believe that fundamentally we all believe in the ideals put forth in the Constitution, and in the Amendments that have clarified and strengthened the foundation of our Nation.

I think that what keeps this nation together is a love of freedom and an immense supply of hope and courage, with enough hope and courage to speak up and take any perceived risk in support of the rights of ALL people.

A vital document not mention by other readers above, but which the text of the book referred to frequently and that they quoted Lincoln using, was the Declaration of Independence.

As Cathy mentioned above this is a great question for the country to discuss today. For a unified country, we need to have some commonality. Our founding documents can supply some of that commonality, but the population needs to be better acquainted with those documents. Civics classes needed for all ages?

One of my concerns is the large number of especially younger people who don't like our country and don't support some basic values. Why is this true?

Hope for better leadership, better social and economic times, and peace between its political parties. Am I preaching??

See my previous responses. I think we have to believe that all peoples want the same thing; a life without fear, possibilities for our children, to have our basic human needs met, and the "pursuit of happiness." If we remember this, we have a better understanding of others who may come from a different background, religion, race, or other life situation than we do.

I do not believe that this nation is unified. If people including the most recent president can stand in Washington on the day that the incoming president is set to be certified and a mob of people can follow his words and take over the Senate, I see no unity whatsoever.

I'm not sure this nation is unified. The difference is that it isn't what one state believes versus what another state believes or region against region. The divisions today are from person to person, even those living in the same town or neighborhood. This makes it harder to just say we are quitting the Union.

Right now, I feel that one of the only things keeping us unified is the common love for our Constitutional freedoms. We spend too much time focusing on what makes us all different, rather than what makes us brothers and sisters under the same flag. Politicians should be setting the example, not taking advantage of certain groups. One thing is for certain: History is doomed to repeat itself. As we become divided as a nation, and as our enemies use this division against us, we will eventually re-unite under a common cause.