海角大神

Talk to each other.

That exhortation comes up frequently in our coverage of politics and culture, where division is rife. Robert Putnam, who famously identified 鈥� 24 years ago 鈥� Americans鈥� growing social isolation, told the Monitor earlier this month of his concerns about the divides that have resulted from it. He recently , 鈥淲e鈥檙e in a really important turning point in American history.鈥�

More than a few Americans agree, and at least some are venturing past invisible barriers that have grown up over years. Take the volunteers in a violence prevention initiative in Pennsylvania, which the Monitor has followed over the past year and which you can read about in today鈥檚 story. In a society where forums for cross-pollination have waned, the effort, funded by the Department of Homeland Security, has engaged people from varied backgrounds and viewpoints. As reporter Simon Montlake writes, 鈥淭his is a story about everyday Americans ... a story of hopes, fears, and a determination to discover what it means to build peace in a democracy under stress.鈥�