Why We’re So Polarized, and What We Can Do About It

America, we need to talk. Our lack of deep communication is not only polarizing the nation, but it is also actually harming our health. Nowadays, depression, suicide, and dangerous drug use are all at epidemic proportions. When people don’t feel connected to each other, they resort to desperate measures. Of course, it need not be like this. We all want intimacy and connection. We all want more love and the feeling of belonging in our lives. So why are we feeling so polarized and separated from each other?

Part of the problem is that we have pretty much surrendered to WMD’s. No, not Weapons of Mass Destruction, but rather Widgets of Mass Distraction. The average person looks at their smartphone over 80 times a day. Twenty percent of the population regularly looks at their smartphone during sex! While the Internet can sometimes be useful for making connections, a thousand Facebook friends don’t really equal one truly good friend. With so many interruptions and distractions, true intimacy and deep connections can be hard to come by.

When I was a boy growing up, I was taught how to complain, blame and shame my brothers and sisters. I was never taught how to listen to them, empathize, or solve difficult problems with them. Apparently, I wasn’t alone. Now we have an entire culture and political class that only knows how to blame and divide. The classic line in the movie…