"Putting aside our differences to deal with pressing practical problems will require not unity, but civility." Biden likely was referring to civility when he admonished, “Let’s begin to listen to one another again. Hear one another, see one another, show respect to one another. Politics doesn’t have to be a raging fire, destroying everything in its path. Every disagreement doesn’t have to be a cause for total war. … We must end this uncivil war.”

Repeatedly calling for “unity” in his inaugural address, President Biden nevertheless did not explain what he meant by the term. Given the state of public discourse in the United States, “civility” would have been a more appropriate theme for the speech.  America has never been unified ideologically and was founded as a constitutional republic to prevent majoritarianism. As a human rights advocate defending religious and political minorities, I tighten up at calls for “unity.” Political unity is what you find in fascist and other totalitarian, one-party states that oppose liberal individualism. Indeed, the word “fascism” derives from the Latin “fascis” — sticks bound together to form a bundle. The symbol on the dime is not that, but a torch of liberty.