Where America can find trust
A lack of bipartisan dialogue in Washington does not reflect trends in trust within communities and between neighbors. Nationally, political divides have shrunk between major groups.
In 2023, the then-senator from West Virginia, Joe Manchin, laughs with a fellow Democrat, Sen. Chris Van Hollen, of Maryland.
AP
Here鈥檚 a stark example of polarization in Washington: As a Sept. 30 deadline looms over Congress to pass a spending bill, the two top Senate leaders from both parties are not talking to each other. And President Donald Trump backed out of negotiations with Democratic leaders on the bill.
This dearth of dialogue 鈥渆ncapsulates the partisan tensions that have raised the odds that ... government agencies will close at midnight Tuesday,鈥� stated Politico.
The shutdown standoff in the capital may seem like the norm. Yet it does not reflect electoral trends or public attitudes in much of the United States. Last year鈥檚 election, for instance, revealed a large drop in polarization between groups of voters compared with the 2020 election, according to a survey from Harvard University and YouGov. The divide between the generations, genders, and rural and urban Americans actually shrank. 鈥淚f these trends endure, they promise a new political era,鈥� wrote Harvard law professor Nicholas O. Stephanopoulos in The Washington Post.
At the national level, trust is still in decline. Only 41% of Americans trust people 鈥渁cross the U.S.,鈥� according to a survey last April for Allstate. Yet trust rises to 53% for local communities and 59% for next-door neighbors. And 87% of people say they are likely to increase the number of social interactions they have in their community in the next year.
鈥淪mall behaviors鈥� in local areas, person by person, can build up trust nationally, the study concluded. 鈥淚f I鈥檓 doing sandbags with you, or I鈥檓 walking through the Palisades fire ... we鈥檙e not going to be arguing about whether there should be tariffs or not,鈥� Allstate鈥檚 chief executive officer, Tom Wilson, told the news site Semafor.
The key to better dialogue in Washington, says former Sen. Joe Manchin, is for politicians to bring out the better angels in each other. 鈥淧eople are talking about there鈥檚 a crusade coming. There鈥檚 war coming,鈥� the former Democrat-turned-independent told NewsNation. 鈥淭he only crusade this country needs right now is one of civility.
鈥淗ow do we get back where we treat each other like human beings? ... Like, hey, we鈥檙e all in this together.鈥�
In a new memoir, 鈥淒ead Center: In Defense of Common Sense,鈥� Mr. Manchin cites the need for humility rather than the use of fear and hatred. 鈥淟isten with an open mind, embrace diverse perspectives and lead by bringing everyone to the table,鈥� he wrote. No one person has all the answers.
Growing up in a minority religion (Catholicism) in a small West Virginia town taught him lessons about relationships. 鈥淚 know that if you work hard and you try to give back more than what you鈥檙e willing to take out, they鈥檙e going to accept you,鈥� he told NPR.
鈥淭hey鈥檒l love you. You鈥檒l be fine.鈥�