On a recent road trip across the United States, I repeatedly encountered the breathtaking beauty of the place we call home. The peaks and plains awakened my patriotism.
The pain and fear prevalent today seemed, at times, far away. Yet I know that toxic polarization – the way we demonize each other across differences – is causing breakdown from the dinner table to family vacations, from the workplace to worship services.
Even as I was transfixed by America’s natural beauty, I found the serenity punctured by antagonistic signs – on a tree, on a truck, in a field. Unlike the many flags I saw proclaiming love of country, these signs proclaimed who their owners were against. They were beacons of fear instead of hope, hate instead of love, judgment instead of grace.
How sad the state of our union is today.
Sounding the alarm about our democracy
Experts who’ve witnessed sectarian violence break out in countries around the world are sounding the alarm in the United States, begging us to grasp what our once exceptional nation could soon become. This danger isn’t lost on the American people.
More than 80% of those responding to an Action Button that NationBuilder recently published across media networks for our #ListenFirst Coalition said they “want a less divided America.”
This overwhelming demand for a way out of toxic polarization is validated by multiple national surveys. Americans across party lines and demographic groups say “division in the country” is the most important issue facing them personally and rank “uniting the country” as the most important national priority.
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So we have a problem; we all see it. And in response we’re doing … what?
The muscle memory pointing our fingers out to blame “them” for all that ails our country is strong. But there’s only one actor in the American story I can control, myself. That’s true for you as well.
At our best as Americans, we are not passive, not weak victims helpless to determine our fate. We are free, empowered, heroes on the arc of history that must bend toward our nation’s promise and founding ideals.
If that’s not who we are now, if we’re too angry and too afraid to turn down the heat and find a way forward together, America will fall. And we’ll have no one to blame but ourselves.
As Americans, it’s time to show up, for each other and for the country we love.
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America Talks:Join a conversation to help repair America
And we will have a chance to show up, as fellow citizens who want to help secure our nation’s future, for America Talks on April 21 or April 23.
America Talks is a unique opportunity to join thousands of Americans who refuse to give up on our country. It’s a chance to enjoy a one-on-one or small group conversation via online video with folks of varied backgrounds and beliefs. Please register here.
Those who participated last year raved about the refreshing and hopeful experience, but a healthier direction in your community requires you to show up and to bring as many of your people as possible.
My friends at Beyond Conflict identify the quality of social relations as the top driver of sustainable peace. They point to the norms shaping the dialogue environment as a key factor.
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I’m with the 79% of Americans who believe creating more opportunities for people to talk with those who have different values and views would be effective in reducing divisiveness. When assured that they would be listened to respectfully, more than four times as many Americans (61%) are interested in talking across differences.
Agree to listen first
Everyone who attends America Talks agrees to listen with curiosity. We also agree to speak from our own experience and connect with respect. You will be heard and valued as a fellow American.
Two-thirds of Americans still agree that “in the end, we’re all Americans,” and three-quarters believe it is still possible for the United States to achieve the ideal of our national motto – “from many people, one.”
But we have to match that hope with action before it’s too late.
America’s warning lights are blinking red. What will you do now?
I invite every American who wants to relieve the pain and paralysis of division to show up April 21 or April 23 when we pioneer that stronger path together at America Talks.
Pearce Godwin is founder of Listen First Project and the #ListenFirst Coalition of more than 400 organizations bringing Americans together across differences. He can be reached at Pearce@ListenFirstProject.org
