America: Don’t be a stranger

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(RNS) — Something has gone wrong in how Americans see each other. It’s not that we disagree. It’s that we’ve stopped seeing each other as neighbors in the first place.

Americans’ trust in the federal government is at one of the lowest levels recorded in nearly seven decades. Sadly, trust in media, schools and the medical system has also noticeably declined over the last few years.

But the issue isn’t just distrust in institutions. The issue is what’s happening between Americans as individuals. In a Pew Research Center survey tracking the same people over a five-year period, roughly a quarter changed their minds about whether others can be trusted and slightly more lost trust than gained it. All told, only 34% of Americans — barely a third — say most people can be trusted.

Amid this cynicism, approximately half of Americans are lonely , so much so that loneliness has been designated an epidemic. In other words, we aren’t merely divided. We are strangers.

While a divided country can still argue its way toward resolution, it’s extremely difficult to negotiate with others when you don’t…