We Are In This Together

In "America at a Crossroads," a December 19, 2023 PBS NewsHour special, Judy Woodruff explored what was driving the immense division among people, distrust in our government, broad dissatisfaction with the political system, how we got there, and what everyday Americans thought about the state of the country.

Before the 2024 election, I had a blog post about Finding Common Ground, where I recounted my positive experience in my 2021 participation in Living Room Conversations. I believe the success of this approach is due to "a carefully crafted conversation guide that fosters connection and understanding." The intention is "to shift our cultural norms toward respect, understanding, and connection by equipping individuals, communities, and organizations with the tools to hold respectful and meaningful exchanges of ideas, develop new relationships, and find common ground."

Now in 2025, with Donald Trump seven months into a second term, political and cultural conflict in America has become even more polarized! The threat of authoritarianism is real! We are in this together, and we need resources to mediate our conflicts.

Mediators Foundation helps bridge divides with many current projects:

• Politics - Civic Health Project

• Transpartianship - Inter-Movement Impact Project

• Congress - Bridge Grades

• Government transparency - Better Governance Institute

• leadership - Courageous Democracy

• Civic hubs - Better Together America

• Small groups - Living Room Conversations

• Community Roundtables - The Great Reset

• News/analysis - Better Conflict Bulletin

• Truth-telling - American Sunlight Education Initiative

• Film and video - Transformational Media Fund 

• Short videos - Systhesis Media

• Television series - Me the People

• Social media - Prosocial Ranking Challenge

• Communities - Active Peace

• Entertainment - Bridge Entertainment Labs

• Empowering young adults - Civic Synergy

• Schools - AllSides Education Fund

• Families - Families and Educators Together Project

• Women's rights - Band of Sisters

• Immigration legal solutions - Immigration Response Group

• Indigenous relations - Right Relationship Boulder

• Supporting Jewish Voices - Blue Compass

• Supporting wisdom leaders - Wisdom Beyond Borders

While I am certainly not a fan of Charles Koch's politics, I agree with the need for our Nation to overcome its deep polarization, including some wisdom in the Bridging Divides Playbook by Stand Together.

The One America Movement partners with faith communities across religious, political, and racial divides to confront toxic polarization in our society. The One America Movement offers Public Workshops on polarization and listening.

For over two years, Judy Woodruff has traveled the country exploring the roots of America’s divisions over race, religion, culture, wealth, and more for the series: America at a Crossroads. Look for her report twice a month on the PBS Newshour. Of particular interest are the interviews with political scientist Robert Putnam, who has spent decades studying these divides and how we might find our way back to a more unified nation. Robert Putnam told Judy Woodruff that strengthening the country’s democracy would begin with grassroots efforts by people stepping up in their own communities.

Jigsaw by Google explores "How AI Might Enhance Our Digital Public Squares." They say: "Innovations in this field offer real promise for strengthening societies, from AI-enabled platforms for crowdsourced wisdom to LLMs that can help find consensus and aid peace negotiations between seemingly irreconcilable groups.

We are in this together. Be part of the solution. Let's see what we agree about and take appropriate action together.