My 81-year-old friend had to go on high blood pressure medication two years ago. She’s never been on any medication in her life. Doctors all over the country are reporting increases in illness and in pain among the elderly nationwide.

Among the rest of us, doctors see dramatic rises in toxic stress and anxiety disorders. To keep my emotional equilibrium, I barely skim the headlines on my phone and no longer watch TV news. I don’t even review Twitter feed to see what the hot topic of the day is.

What is wrong with us? Frankly, we feel as if we woke up one day in a different country. Once upon a time we the people loved new research and information. We were not living under this government that treats facts as fake.

The country we knew wouldn’t dream of dismantling environmental regulations because they conflict with ideology and profits. We couldn’t have imagined being a people that turns our back on the victims of natural disasters in retaliation for their votes for other candidates. In the olden days, two years ago, we felt secure in our alliances with other democracies, rather than fearing our own leaders who sing the praises of dictators.

It’s a mad, mad, mad, mad world. When peaceful protests are treated as the illegal behavior of criminals, when men write laws to control women’s bodies, and when individuals are arrested for providing food and water for those who hunger and thirst, it’s a mad, mad, mad, mad world.

When people seeking asylum are caged, when children are forcibly removed from their parents and sent into oblivion, when elected representatives are denied access to detention facilities and reporters are barred from white house press conferences, it’s a mad, mad, mad, mad world. No wonder it is making sane people feel like they are the crazy ones.

I do read magazines and newspapers. I latch onto accounts of people working hard to make peace, to save the planet, to love everyone, and to understand each other. I am amazed and comforted by how much good work is going on in our country. Despite the criminal activities of corporate thugs and political racketeers, we the people continue to find our own ways to live in a kind and compassionate country.

As Greta Thunberg, the young Norwegian climate activist said, “When we start to act, hope is everywhere. So instead of looking for hope – look for action. Then the hope will come.”

One place where you can find some important action is with a national non-partisan organization called Better Angels. This group organizes workshops all over the country to help people who identify as conservative, or red, talk to people who identify as progressive, or blue, and vice versa. According to their web site, their goal is to depolarize America and help people find common ground.

A workshop day begins with conservatives and progressives working in separate groups to identify the stereotypes they think the opposite team has about them. They discuss whether there is some truth to those ideas, and where the stereotype might distort the truth or hide it altogether. Another activity is to have each group discuss with the other why their values are good for the country (Richie Davis for the Greenfield Recorder, 6/3/19).

You can imagine that this activity would not fill the room with bellows of anger or words designed to impact souls like bullets from a gun. These workshops engage people in the work of listening, actively listening, as well as reflecting deeply on their presumptions and stereotypes, their values and beliefs.

It is the quiet work of walking back and forth between red and blue perspectives so many times, pathways form. A trail of understanding becomes visible as participants hike through the divide over and over. Participants are learning from one another.

Whenever people are prepared to reach out in order to understand one another, there is recognition that we are all good, caring people. We all have a fundamental decency and concern for doing the right thing. Better Angels teaches people that the right thing emerges from giving due consideration to opposing viewpoints.