A Quilt of a Country

This term means to assist or encourage, especially in the context of committing an offense. Quindlen uses it to present the two factors she feels help shape American Patriotism and National Identity: the Calvinist tendency to accept difficult challenges and a sense of fairness. By stating that these factors “abet” the American concept of unity, she underscores that unity is something Americans embrace almost despite themselves. Quindlen would certainly not suggest that national cohesion is wrong—she is arguing in favor of one form of it—but she does suggest that Americans treat it as though it were wrong, as with the “grudging fairness” they show immigrants (7). The term thus points to one of the many paradoxes of Quindlen’s essay.

This is a term originating from the Afrikaans language of South Africa and means “separateness.” It refers specifically to the policy of racial segregation adopted by the white supremacist South African government in 1948 and in place until the early 1990s. The term can also apply more broadly to official or unofficial situations of racial segregation within a society, usually in a spatial sense (i.e., groups not only have distinct rights and privileges, but are also prevented from cohabitating).