One.

Unlike in the past, where we were unified and drew in allies, currently our own commons seems to be breaking apart. What concerns me most as a military man is not our external adversaries; it is our internal divisiveness. We are dividing into hostile tribes cheering against each other, fueled by emotion and a mutual disdain that jeopardizes our future, instead of rediscovering our common ground and finding solutions.  At Gettysburg, Lincoln spoke of our nation having a new birth of freedom.  Today's disruptive civic climate would confound and sadden The Great Emancipator.

Toward the end of the Marjah, Afghanistan, battle in 2010, I encountered a Marine and a Navy corpsman, both sopping wet, having just cooled off by relaxing in the adjacent irrigation ditch. I gave them my usual: “How’s it going, young men?”

“Living the dream, sir!” the Marine shouted. “No Maserati, no problem,” the sailor added with a smile.

Their nonchalance and good cheer, even as they lived one day at a time under austere conditions, reminded me how unimportant are many of the things back home that can divide us if we let them.

I believe that I and all Americans need to recognize that our democracy is an experiment -- and one that can be reversed.  I'm all for vigorous debate and vociferous disagreements, grounded in consistent democratic principles and mutual respect.  I've developed a love affair with our Constitution.  Its purpose, as stated in the preamble, includes, to "insure domestic tranquility [and] promote the general welfare."  We all know that we’re better than our current politics. Tribalism must not be allowed to destroy our experiment.

I'm not singling out one political party.  As a military professional, I'm proud that no one knows for whom I vote, and equally proud that I served loyally Presidents of both parties.  I was eased out of one job under one party and left another job under the other.  I'm politically independent, guided by history's lessons and strategic imperatives.

After he lost his son Robert in Afghanistan, my friend and colleague in arms, General John Kelly, said, "I think the one thing [the parents of the fallen] would ask is that the cause for which their son or daughter fell be carried through to a successful end, whatever that means, as opposed to 'This is getting too costly,' or 'Too much of a pain in the ass,' or 'Let's just walk away from it.'  They were willing to go and in many cases gave their lives for the mission.  They were willing to see it through literally to their ends.  Can we do less?"

Few among our citizenry choose to be warriors.  They are our thin red line.  No policymaker should ever send them into battle until he has assessed the risks and costs, and is reasonably confident of achieving a clear goal.

I believe that we can get over our current malaise of tribalism.  On every coin we've imprinted “E Pluribus Unum.”  Out of many, one. That was the motto our forefathers adopted to avoid becoming a nation of immigrants divided into tribes.  For the sake of future generations, let us keep the faith. 

E Pluribus Unum.

Jim Mattis, from the Epilogue, "America as Its Own Ally," of Call Sign Chaos: Learning to Lead