Elections won’t fix America’s political divisions

If you think politics in America could not be more acrimonious than it is right now, don’t bet on it. It’s about to get much worse, unless we, the American people, do something about it.  

It is difficult to know whether the seemingly irresolvable partisan divide in Congress causes or merely reflects the divides in our society. Either way, there used to be a moderate middle occupied by liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats. This middle disappeared long before President Trump entered politics. By 2020, his fourth year in office, the nation’s 10 most polarized years had occurred over the previous 16 years, across both Democratic and Republican administrations.

The historical perspective can be helpful. America’s cohesion is not based on common ethnicity, religion or ancient history. It is based on the ideals of liberty, equality, God-given rights, and government with the consent of the people.

The social contract holds those ideals together day by day. It respects that common ground does not require common opinions. We don’t have to agree on everything. In fact, we never will — not in a democracy like ours that guarantees freedom of religion, thought and expression. Instead, the contract requires a shared allegiance to civic duty, civility and mutual respect. It not only allows but also celebrates the coexistence of diverse, even competing, ideologies. 

The failure to honor that contract has previously split social cohesion. The Civil War was the most violent example. Americans united to help fight World War II, and enjoyed growing prosperity as we created the middle class in........

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