The election is behind us, and I would be lying if I didn’t say I was disappointed in the outcome. For those who know me, that won’t be much of a surprise. I just returned from interviewing a volunteer. We talked about the importance of making connections and building relationships. I couldn’t help but think about the irony of elections. Both parties stress how important is to get rid of the divisiveness that divides us as a nation. They each tell us how they will be the one to heal the nation and bridge that divide. To me, the idea of party politics is just the opposite. In elections we are asked to pick between two candidates. Whether you choose A or B, you have chosen a side and that generally deepens the divide. Our elections seem to come out near 50:50. This speaks volumes to the fact that as a populace, we are more undecided than we admit. If we really want to heal our divide, it won’t come from our elected officials. After all, they are bound to their party affiliate, and that is what divides us.

My wife and I recently attended an impromptu block party in a neighbor’s driveway. This neighbor had wanted the two newest homeowners on our block to have a chance to meet their neighbors. She had gone door to door and invited everyone on our block to come to her party. I expected a handful of them to seize the opportunity, but to our amazement, everyone showed up. The term neighbor implies someone in proximity and undoubtedly someone you know, maybe even friends with. Even though we had lived on this block for thirty plus years, we met people we had never known. That night we shared stories, the stories, of how we had come to live in this neighborhood; our neighborhood. We shared our phone numbers and our emails. We became neighbors who knew each other.

There is a point here. For those of you who have been readers of my blog, you know that there is always a point. Throughout that evening, we never talked about our politics. That would have divided us. We talked about our families, our kids, and our grandkids. We shared pictures and stories. We talked about life. If we are to heal the divide in this nation, it will start at gatherings like this. We heal through our interactions with each other. We heal as a nation when we rely more on each other and less on our politicians. They have the power to legislate, it’s what we gave them when we elected them. We have the power to set policy, we do it through public opinion. If we are going to close this divide. If we are to heal, it starts by first putting aside our differences and instead, accentuating our commonalities. Let’s realize that we are all neighbors who need to get to know each other. Let’s throw a block party for the nation, no judgments, no choosing sides, just conversations. I’ll invite you; you invite your neighbor. Welcome to the party, let me introduce you to the neighbors!