There was a time when man was invincible.

People believed they could build a city that contained a tower whose tip reached into heaven. They united with one vision, and their goal was almost realized.

God knew man could do anything he desired if people worked together. Then God dispersed the group into different parts of the world and gave them different languages so they could no longer understand one another. They could not work together to build the tower of Babel, and separate nations became established with their own cultures and practices.

The above story is the accepted theory for the diversity of nations in the Christian religion.

I do not tell this to present it as truth or folklore but to address the overall moral. This story has always fascinated me.

In the tale of Babel, man’s most championed moment is when people shared one culture. They had no ideological differences to stop them from their invincible destiny. Before Babel, man could reach any goal desired whether the heights of heaven are interpreted figuratively or literally.

God took away man’s power by giving him the one thing he could not handle – diversity.

Looking at the world around me, I can see God’s plan worked perfectly.

Nations destroy each other day after day in the name of ethnocentrism. Terrorist attacks by anyone from al-Qaeda to the United States government are falsely justified by attacking those who think differently. Global agreements about anything from climate control to currency are halted by governments who refuse to acknowledge any way but theirs. Poverty plagues most of the world because those with most of the resources cannot share with their brothers and sisters of darker skin colors.

I cannot fathom man’s invincibility because it has never existed. However, it seems unity would bring humankind as close to invincibility as possible.

What if every nation aimed to help the greater good of humankind instead of their own selfish agendas? What if a different belief did not cause a war? What if nations helped those who were the most desperate instead of those who had the most oil? What if nations united to end diseases that are wiping out entire continents?

Maybe, it’s time that we all commit to building a tower of Babel for the 21st century. We no longer speak the same languages and no longer look the same, but we still have the power to be invincible.

Marchae Grair is a sophomore electronic media productions major and columnist for the Daily Kent Stater. Contact her at [email protected].