Last year, I sat across from a group of exhausted Americans who’d been asked to imagine volunteering for a community event with people they normally avoided: political opponents, racial “others,” neighbors they silently distrusted.

The reactions were telling. Some lit up at the chance to build something better together. Others only engaged when the task was framed as preventing more hate and violence. And still others shrugged—until they realized the invitation was to roll up their sleeves and do something practical, side by side.

That moment crystallized what six new studies (over 2,100 participants across the country) now confirm: The way we invite people to bridge divides matters just as much as the activities themselves.

Here’s the hard truth: America is teetering. Nearly a quarter of our fellow citizens believe violence may be necessary to “save” the nation.........

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