Start a talk to help heal fractured nation

By now, most of our votes have been tallied and we have been presented with an election outcome that is both celebrated and denounced. No matter what happens over the next few weeks, we all will need to figure out how to move on together.

Our fragile coexistence must be cultivated whether your “team” has won or lost this election. If we continue to support the division and hatred, we are only hurting ourselves. We need each other. But it is going to take all of us backing away from the screens, looking up from our phones and stopping the toxic tweeting.

It seems that, through the facade of social media, we are forgetting our similarities and demonizing our differences. It will always be easier to dismiss the humanity of anyone that you do not have a real conversation with. This week, I challenge you to talk to real people.

Keep your mask on, stay six feet apart and be brave enough to strike up a conversation with a stranger. I dare you to ask the mail carrier how her day is going and to look the delivery man in the eye to thank him when he drops off your dinner. Real people are everywhere.

Maybe through a casual conversation you will find out a little about how this time has been for them.

Listening to them could give you a new perspective.

It is these small connections that keep us going and are what binds a society together. And it is a place to begin.

So look up today, notice the people around you and have the courage to say more than hello.