The Memo: Clashing visions of America underscore nation’s divisions

The nation is about to celebrate the 250th anniversary of its founding, but few people expect a true moment of unity.

That’s partly because of the polarizing nature of President Trump, whose capacity to inspire love from his supporters and loathing from his detractors remains unequaled by any other contemporary political figure.

But it’s also because conservative and liberal America have starkly different views on fundamental questions of what the nation should be — and who is to be considered a full member of it.

Those clashing visions manifest themselves most obviously on the issue of immigration — as was vividly seen this week in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling on birthright citizenship.

Liberals hailed the outcome, which upheld the view that almost everyone born on U.S. soil is an American citizen, as a much-needed reaffirmation of constitutional rights. Conservatives lambasted it as a betrayal that will usher in a further dilution of America’s essential character.

But that debate is only one strand in the bigger issue of how the U.S. should be defined and what qualities the nation should represent.

National arguments about Trump’s expansive view of presidential power and the appropriateness, or otherwise, of vigorous displays of political dissent are part of the picture, too.

Amid all of that, the accusation of being “un-American” is hurled around with abandon from every quarter.

Trump has often used the term to describe legal and political opponents.

While out of power, he complained about the “unAmerican Weaponization of our Law Enforcement,” of which he saw himself as a victim.

His opponents say the reverse is true, arguing that he is traducing the traditional independence of the justice system as his administration pursues critics including former FBI Director James Comey and New York........

© The Hill