I hadn’t thought of that. A rallying cry that society could congeal around. In such a fractured world, with such extreme views and large platforms for those views to spread, it’s scary to think about how big that external threat would have to be.
Discussion
It's a well-understood phenomenon in sociology around group dynamics, and in political science. It's also well understood by autocrats and demagogues, who weaponize the fear of external threats to distract from their own corruption and tyranny.