For those of us who believe that the Biden/Harris ticket represents a hopeful shift to decency and fairness, the results of this election bring joyâalbeit tempered joy. We are still a nation divided. In his first address as president-elect, Biden appealed to unity, asking Americans to âgive each other a chanceâ rather than viewing their opponents as enemiesâbecause until we address the deep divides in this country, nobody wins.
No matter what weâre working onâracial justice, poverty, COVID relief, or any other issue that affects community healthâthe only way to solve those problems is through collaboration. And we know firsthand that itâs impossible to collaborate with people you donât trust.
Social trust is an indicator of health and well-being for individuals and for communities. Societies in which people trust one another are healthier and wealthier. Social trust is also associated with non-economic outcomes, such as increased life satisfaction and lower suicide rates. 1 However, even before the intersecting health, economic, and social crises of this year, social trust has been declining in the United States. A growing number of people have zero people in their network with whom they feel they can discuss important matters, for example.
Our divisions are perhaps most clear when it comes to politicsâin other words, when it comes to allocating power. According to The Pew Research Center, â40 percent or more of Democrats and Republicans see the other party not just as people they disagree with, but as a threat to the well-being of the nation.â 2 Journalist David Brooks goes so far as to say that âwhen people in a society lose faith or trust in their institutions and in each other, the nation collapses.â 3 Brooks describes the growing animosity we are currently experiencingâespecially during this election cycleâas the result of âexplosive distrust, which is the belief that those who disagree with you are not only wrong, they are illegitimate.â He notes that this yearâs intersecting crises created a unique chance for us to pull together as a nation and build trust, but that we havenât yet fully embraced that opportunity.
When people work together toward a co-created vision, interpersonal and institutional trust is strengthened. For example, our team has seen how trust has been restored between historically disenfranchised neighborhood residents and their representatives in government institutions. Weâve facilitated conversations that helped people with opposing viewpoints develop a shared vision for the future. Decades of work with community partnerships have also taught us that trust gains ground:
The good news is that while the majority of people believe current levels of trust make it harder to solve our countryâs problems, they also believe we can still rebuild trust in each other and in our institutions. 4 The tough news is that trust wonât rebuild itself. Divisions wonât mend themselves. Just as democracy requires our active and ongoing civic participation, rebuilding social trust requires that we implement intentional practices and strategies within our organizations and initiatives.
Creating a trusting country starts by creating socially connected, trusting communities at the local level through collaborative, community-led, place-based efforts. We have a lot of work to do, and weâre ready. We hope youâll join us.