We can be so much better!

We can, and often are.

When we stop talking to people, it falls apart.

I talk to my neighbors. One is pretty far to the right, in a weird protein/raw milk/all carbs are evil thing, big evangelical church. But you know who came through for us when we had a back home emergency and were an ocean away? They did. And I brought them a huge bag of Omaha steaks when we got home in thanks. And we still talk, and I was giving one of their sons some advice on distance running and the fallout decades later. We can get past the differences if we keep talking and don't pigeonhole and excoriate people.

I'm a class officer in my military academy's graduating class. We have the entire spectrum of folks, trust me, they're not shy and they'll tell you just what is going on. But also, they talk, and we have a shared experience (4 years in that crucible), and that's why the Southern Baptist preacher can invite the lesbian doctor and her wife over and they can exist, and even laugh together. Class officers are all volunteers, and everyone comes together when it matters - when one loses a child as a teen, when one loses a sibling to murder, to celebrate the recently released flag officer list that has one of our ranks likely picking up yet another star and going into a very important position and for which probably 50-100 of us will show up for the ceremony, to commiserate when another who is as warrior, as vetted as they come, is tossed aside because of stupid Hegseth the cosplay SecDef.

We can. It is possible. It takes some trust, and breaking bread or having a beverage together. Sometimes it is not possible, but I don't think all is lost.