About Chorus of Union
Chorus of Union is co-edited by Micah E. Weiss and Jared Feuer. We have named this publication from a phrase used by President Abraham Lincoln in his inaugural address. As the Union was tearing apart, he said:
I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.
While not as dramatic a moment as President Lincoln’s, we face contemporary crosswinds that are dividing society in dangerous ways. Gallons of virtual ink have been spilled on polarization as the left and right have become isolated caricatures of themselves, leaving the vast majority of people unrepresented in societal expressions and decision making. We would be offering another drop in the bucket if we were to create yet another publication taking potshots at the madness that has befallen both camps. Instead, we endeavor to kick off a movement that aligns the right’s emphasis on the individual, objectivity, two-parent families, hierarchy, and the Western tradition with the left’s focus on the collective, subjective experiences, familial diversity, equality, and groups historically marginalized by the West.
Where we look to make a contribution is to articulate a bold viewpoint for what we are calling ‘the intersection.’ The need to represent this perspective can be seen in the lack of a widely adopted term, with most people resorting to words like the ‘middle’ or ‘moderate’ that sound unprincipled, mealy-mouthed, or compromise without conviction. We believe that the moral and effective path for a strong society is one that simultaneously invests, unapologetically, in the assets of the left and right. We believe that the qualities of the left and right are two sides of the same coin, and society can elevate viewpoints and policy that simultaneously reinforce the individual and the collective, objective truths and subjective experiences, a two-parent exemplar that is not exclusionary of alternative realities, hierarchies with equal opportunity, and Western tradition alongside marginalized identities.
It is important to clarify that articulating compromises between left and right is not our intention. The way forward is not, for example, a policy that splits the baby between equality and hierarchy. It is more to champion the values of each in turn whenever possible while remaining beholden to neither, to demonstrate how they can live in productive tension only when challenged and tempered by the other, and to explore ideas and solutions beyond the dichotomy they represent. This last point is important - not all meaning or answers come from the political; and God, love, connection, and the intangible need to be elevated as well.
These two perspectives, and beyond, can be supported through the strengthening of four core institutions - not unilaterally but by enhancing their respective strengths and remediating their challenges:
Cultural forces that shape existence, including familial, religion, fine and popular art, and civic organizations.
Governmental agencies that provide access to opportunity and security regardless of background.
The private sector that provides unparalleled economic benefits and technological development.
The nation, with patriotism as a bonding agent, especially with the United States’s ethnic diversity.
In terms of the publication and its editors: Micah E. Weiss is a teacher and administrator at a boarding school in New Hampshire. Jared Feuer is an Atlanta-based nonprofit executive in the rights space. Our publishing cycle is every other Friday at noon Eastern Time as of January 6, 2023 with an occasional short feature on Mondays. At first we will publish columns from the two co-editors. We plan to soon after include guest columns from a diversity of perspectives, including from the worlds of academia, business, arts, nonprofit, and religion, along with links to other publications and letters to the editors that support or challenge the viewpoint of this publication.
When we publish under our own names, we each respectively take ownership of the content, although we note these are our own opinions and not those of our employers. When we publish selections from others, we are doing so because we believe their perspectives are valuable but we are not providing endorsement.
As we surveyed the ecosystem of thought publications, we found writers critiquing the left, or the right, or calling for a moderation that satisfies no one. The vacuum that we seek to fill is one that unapologetically upholds the wisdom of both the left and the right. Our hope is that over time this whisper will be amplified into a fierce claim for ideological cross-reinforcement that goes beyond a zero-sum perspective.
Thank you for engaging in this endeavor with us.
