Cultivating Love in a Polarized World |
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Democracy depends on our ability through civil society to remain connected amid disagreement.
Political polarization and ideological thinking divide people into insiders and outsiders
Love encourages curiosity, turning assumptions about others into opportunities for understanding.
As the 2026 election season unfolds, Americans are once again being asked to evaluate the direction of the country. Primary elections will keep the country busy this summer through September, followed by the general election campaign leading up to November 3. While voters will undoubtedly weigh issues such as the economy and rising costs of living, concerns about the strength and future of American democracy remain a recurring theme, particularly among younger voters.
As trust in government institutions is declining, many Americans are also experiencing strain in their personal relationships due to political and ideological differences. For example, one study found that 37 percent of Americans have experienced a “political breakup,” losing relationships because of political differences.
We are experiencing a period of deep polarization. For many people, it feels as though every disagreement carries enormous stakes. The news cycle, social media algorithms, and our increasingly fragmented communities often reinforce the sense that those who disagree with us are not simply mistaken, but dangerous.
We may not be there yet, but a society in which everyone sees everyone else as an adversary begins to resemble the world Thomas Hobbes famously described as “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” The seventeenth-century political philosopher believed only a strong centralized authority could restrain human conflict. History has shown that Hobbes’........