America's brand is a 'tug of war'

By Griffin Hedrick

Branding used to mean the identity of a company's product or service. A brand was developed to help make a product unique to sellers so they would choose to purchase it over another. Branding has taken on a new definition in our social media-inundated world. This previously marketing-based term now is applied to human beings. People on social media have to build a brand for themselves. Meaning they have to create an idea of who they are for their viewers to see. These personal brands are created for many different reasons. Sometimes for the person to gain fame. Sometimes to sell a product of service.  

Regardless of definition, the purpose of the branding is to express something about the thing or individual. Having an image or brand is important because it signals to others what you are about. A brand can decide whether or not someone wants to interact with you, do business with you, or buy your thing.  
Many people spend countless hours building their brand because of the impact it can have on their lives. Building a brand requires careful thought. It is completely understandable why people would put so much time into it. However, I wonder if so much time is being put into the individual how much is left for consideration of the group's brand? Does a group have a brand?  Because it contains a multitude of individuals who may have conflicting personal brands, some thought needs to go into the group brand.  

Have you ever considered what America's brand is? The idea of a bunch of conflicting individuals sounds like our brand.  The idea of conflict being our brand may seem very evident in the current political climate of today. Both sides of the political spectrum are in a heated tug of war to draw public attention to their side of issues.  

While on the surface it might seem a negative thing to have such conflict, I would argue it is not. I would say it is just American. We are a representative democracy. Meaning we have a fair deal of say in our government. Yes, we elect people to have the political boxing match for us, it still is we who send our champions to fight for us. A privilege not always found in other parts of the world.  

The back and forth is necessary. I would also say we are not any more divisive than any other time. Anyone who remembers a little bit of American history from grade school will remember that we have always had protests, riots and zealous debates as a feature of American politics. Every generation -- from Vietnam protesters to prohibition advocates all the way back to revolutionaries versus loyalists -- has thought that generation's conflict was witnessing  “the worst it has ever been,”  

It is how we as a country figure out what is best for us.  

Remember that we are that group of individuals with many different interests. Meaning we have to go back and forth to make sure everyone is heard and represented.  

\The progression of the country is not a straight line. Nor is it plummeting in any direction. Our trajectory is a lot like how a snake moves. We move a little one way and the other side says “Hey, let's bring back a bit to the middle” then again to the other side. But in the aggregate you see a straight path to what we are hoping it's better future.   
My hope is that you walk away after reading this thinking more positively about the country. Having a sense that the conflict we see in our lifetime is a necessary function of our society and this is not a unique feature of our lifetime. 

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