By Christian Omoruyi

“There are two Americas. One America is beautiful for situation. In this America, millions of people have the milk of prosperity and the honey of equality flowing before them. This America is the habitat of millions of people who have food and material necessities for their bodies, culture and education for their minds, freedom and human dignity for their spirits. In this America children grow up in the sunlight of opportunity. But there is another America. This other America has a daily ugliness about it that transforms the buoyancy of hope into the fatigue of despair.”

Martin Luther King Jr. made this observation in one of my favorite speeches that he delivered shortly before his death. His words lamentably still ring true today. The pandemic has exacerbated several societal divisions. The revival of a racial justice movement unseen in magnitude since the civil rights era has drawn attention to a neglected America subordinated to mainstream America. Strikingly, the notion of two Americas extends to our politics as well. Polarization has riven the nation into opposing factions. Whether at family Thanksgivings or at statehouses and the halls of Congress, the beliefs and discourse of “red” America have become unintelligible to “blue” America and vice versa. The riot at the Capitol on January 6th rawly distilled the danger that one America irreconcilably antagonized from the other poses to the very bedrock of our democracy.

As I immersed myself in American history in high school, our nation’s defining motto captivated me: E pluribus unum. Out of many, one. One people, quilted in a wondrous tapestry of diversity, with one shared destiny. Yet, the contemporary state of our politics negates this foundational belief. It seemed to me like politics was a gladiatorial bloodsport rather than a deliberative commons to address pressing challenges. The political system felt hopelessly rigged to me, a system that rewards not competent legislators, but uncompromising politicians who are more interested in maintaining social media celebrity status and throwing red meat to their respective bases.

I was determined to play a role in confronting the perverse factors that have contributed to widespread disillusion, cynicism, and tribalistic partisanship and help bridge the chasm between our two Americas. Assiduous research made clear to me that one of the culprits in our current mess is gerrymandering. As you may be aware, gerrymandering occurs when legislators in statehouses like ours manipulate the boundaries of legislative districts with the intent of giving their political party an unfair electoral advantage. Gerrymandering is in essence an election in reverse: politicians choose their voters. This corruption of democracy makes most legislative districts electorally uncompetitive, which emboldens obstructionist politicians who cater to the ideological fringes while depressing turnout among voters who justifiably concede that election outcomes are foreordained. Studies have shown that Indiana is one of the worst gerrymandered states in the country, and our voter turnout rates are consequently lackluster.

Currently, Christian Omoruyi serves as Government Affairs Liaison in the Free Expression Programs team at PEN America. Prior to joining PEN America, Christian interned at the Hudson Institute, where he provided research support on democratic backsliding in Europe, European security and defense policy, and transatlantic trade relations. Christian also interned at the Episcopal Church’s Office of Government Relations, supporting its congressional priorities on religious freedom, human rights, and foreign assistance. Christian graduated from American University in 2021 with a BA in international affairs and has worked extensively with human rights activists and facilitated dialogues with recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize.