Unity.

A small word huge in the promise of peace and imbued with the power to evoke visions of a more perfect union.

Unity.

It was the overarching theme in President Joe Biden’s inaugural speech, delivered to a small crowd of favored supporters, Washington, D.C., insiders and celebrities.

But, the use of the word by Biden and notable other personalities inside and outside politics should raise this question: “What sort of unity do you mean?”

Are they speaking of people, regardless of gender, race, national origin, religion and political views, willingly coming together for the good of all? Or is the unity of which they speak one forced upon people who don’t share their beliefs?

And how can these champions of unification hope to bring about peaceful unity during a time when the nation’s air and airwaves are choked with divisive words?

The people who stormed the Capitol Complex on Jan. 6 — an act that should be denounced vehemently by all people — quickly went from being called a violent mob to insurrectionists and domestic terrorists.

Now these people are being likened by some to members of a cult who need to be deprogrammed.

One such person is Katie Couric. The 64-year-old TV personality was a guest on “Real Time with Bill Maher” earlier this week. Among the topics about which she spoke were the state of the Republican Party and how many on the political right have been fed lies and need to be deprogrammed like cult members.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez took to Instagram on Jan. 12 and blasted the GOP for instigating the “insurrection” and alleged some of her colleagues hold white-supremacist beliefs. She also claimed she was afraid colleagues would lead Jan. 6 rioters to her.

“So I didn’t even feel safe around other members of Congress,” she said.

One could argue her words don’t foster unity.

Rep. Steve Cohen came forth to strongly hint that fellow member of the U.S. House Lauren Boebert led would-be insurgents on tours of the U.S. Capitol and suggested Boebert’s mother was among the Jan. 6 rioters.

So, is the objective to build unity only after all opposition has been discredited and/or suppressed? Let’s hope not.

True unity can’t be forced because the people who are coerced into bending a knee to ideologies and beliefs not their own will resent being subjugated. Resentment becomes fear and anger that later explodes into desperate hatred. And we all know to where that leads.

And if the power seeking to enforce unity has visions of all Americans marching in lockstep to some social and political utopia, they are doomed to fail. America is a country populated by people of all colors and backgrounds who possess myriad political and religious beliefs. It would be impossible to get them to embrace a single set of beliefs.

But, that’s not a bad thing. America is home to a wondrous, and sometimes maddening, society in which people learn to respectfully agree to disagree and yet have the capacity to unite in common cause.

True unity is a simple thing. It can be people of diverse backgrounds coming together to rehabilitate a community park, to wisely govern a municipality, or to take a knee and pray for the salvation of their country.

So, people pray. And tell your elected leaders to take a step back, cool the heated rhetoric and find a way to lead us, all of us, into a better future.