The Surprising Cure for Political Division

Last night closed another election in America. A familiar ritual: millions of people refreshing news feeds, clenching their teeth, hoping their candidate would bring peace and prosperity to their state or city. But elections don’t just produce winners. They also produce losers—often angry, disillusioned, and feeling even more distant from the other side.

And the distance is growing. According to a 2024 Gallup poll, nearly 80% of U.S. adults believe Americans are greatly divided on the nation’s most important values. Only 18% feel the country is united.

The split is everywhere: red vs. blue, urban vs. rural, white collar vs. blue collar. Our two-party system leaves fewer and fewer places to stand together. The result: Minimal compromise, plenty of resentment, and a sense that politicians are no longer capable of bridging the gap.

If city councils, state legislators, and national leaders can’t bring us together, what will?

I think the answer has nothing to do with politics.

I think the answer is purpose.

Purpose makes us better versions of ourselves

When we pursue something meaningful, something that lights us up, we show up as our most curious, joyful, generous selves. It doesn’t matter whether it’s volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, joining a pickleball league, singing in a choir, building model airplanes, or starting a book club. Purpose pulls us out of isolation and into connection.

And purpose attracts other people.

Before long, you’re not just dabbling in a hobby. You’re part of a community of people who care about the same thing. Psychologists call this a community of internal purpose: a group organized not around demographics or politics, but around meaning.

In those communities, something powerful happens. People share ideas. They learn from each other. They build things together. Some even advocate for causes they all believe in.

But the most important thing: Purpose creates a foundation for connection, even when people disagree about everything else.

A real example: How money brought two political opposites together

Before the last presidential election, I attended a personal finance conference. I spent time with a podcaster I admire—someone who sees the world the way I do when it comes to money, family, meaningful work, and the value of helping others. We were part of the same community of purpose.

When he casually mentioned he supported a presidential candidate I strongly opposed, I was stunned.

If the conversation had taken place online, I probably would have unfollowed him. If he’d been a stranger, I might have dismissed him as uninformed or malicious.

But he wasn’t a stranger. I knew him. I trusted who he was.

Instead of shutting down, we talked. Really talked.

Our conversation wasn’t tense. It wasn’t angry. It wasn’t about humiliating or converting the other person. We were curious. We tried to understand. And even though neither of us changed our mind, both of us walked away feeling respected and strangely optimistic.

There’s a name for what we created in that moment: Common ground.

Common ground doesn’t require agreement

It just requires humanity.

And yet, this type of connection is becoming rare. We’re more isolated than ever. Social media replaced social clubs. Streaming replaced community gatherings. Many of us left organized religion, long-term corporate culture, and neighborhoods where people once actually talked to each other.

Even when we want connection, we don’t know where to find it anymore.

A 2025 report from the Urban Institute put it bluntly: Americans now spend less time with other people than at any point in the last 60 years. Social connection is “in decline.”

Of course, politics feels toxic. We’re arguing with strangers, not neighbors. We are debating without relationships, without trust, without grace.

The way back doesn’t start in Washington

It starts in our kitchens, gyms, backyards, and community centers.

It starts when we:

Do things we truly love. Not because they’re productive, profitable, or impressive. Simply because they make us feel alive.
Say yes to others who love those same things. Join the group, the class, the team, the club.
Welcome new people into those spaces. Purpose grows when it’s shared.
Talk—really talk—with the people we trust. Even when it’s uncomfortable. Especially when we disagree.
Reflect deeply on the perspectives of those we care about, instead of dismissing or caricaturing them.

This isn’t idealistic. It’s practical. Look at the conversations that go well in your life. They nearly always happen with people you already trust.

If we wait for politicians to fix this, we’ll be waiting forever

Nobody is coming to save us from division. Not Congress. Not the president. Not your city council.

Healing doesn’t come from laws. It comes from people willing to hear each other out, not just on election night, but every day in between.

And the best way to create those conversations is to build communities of purpose where trust grows faster than suspicion.

I don’t know if purpose will solve America’s political divide.

But I know this. Right now, we’re failing at listening. We’re failing at connection. And purpose is the most human and hopeful way forward.

If we want a less divided country, we don’t need more anger or more clever arguments.

We need more neighbors. More teammates. More fellow volunteers. More book club members. More purpose.

Maybe unity won’t come from the ballot box.

Maybe it will come from belonging.