Fifty percent of people in the United States report feeling lonely. Groups are disconnected from one another and trust between us is low. Seventy-five percent of Americans are concerned about the future of our democracy. Alarmingly, four percent say they are ready to use political violence to “save the nation.”
Yet, something is happening in many neighborhoods, towns, and cities.
People are moving toward one another. Groups are reaching out.
The Great Connecting is taking shape.
When I speak to groups, they already know the challenges we are facing. But more and more people are realizing they can play a role in addressing them.
In the 18th century, a movement of religious fervor called the Great Awakening swept across Europe and the Americas. Now, we are seeing a different kind of movement: people of diverse traditions, cultures, economic backgrounds, identities, and ages are coming together with the realization that we are better together. The Great Connecting is underway.
Individualism has gone too far.
I don’t mean that individual rights have gone too far. In fact, the anxiety we are feeling today is creating the conditions for authoritarian movements and inter-group violence—both of which threaten individual rights.
What I do mean is that:
- To our individual personalities, gifts, values, and identities, we can add participation in groups.
- To our own traditions and communities, we can add respectful interaction and partnership with other groups.
This will require hard work. It will take courage and determination. As Carlton, an African American man born in the South, recently told me, “We are all traumatized, just not all equally.”
But the risk is worth it.
When we recognize the humanity in others, we begin to rediscover it in ourselves.
It’s not too late. It’s up to each of us, and the leaders of every group. What PTU and other bridge building organizations are offering are vision, tools, and skills.
This work happens person to person and group to group.
We are better together.