Our problems won’t be solved with a single election or a new president. Hyper-partisanship has poisoned our politics to such an extent that it compromised our response to the COVID-19 pandemic, fueled the spread of disinformation, and sparked the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.

But the U.S. was fraying long before Donald Trump became president, with growing gaps between the rich and poor as well as deep cultural divides between urban and rural communities. The result is that America often feels like it’s coming apart, with clashing tribes caught in feedback loops of distrust and resentment, amplified online and manipulated through disinformation, driving us toward ever greater levels of mutual incomprehension.

People on different sides of this divide fear that the other side hates their kind. They have a point: a 2019 study found that roughly 42 percent of both parties view the opposition as “downright evil.” In this environment, there is an understandable temptation to fight political fire with fire. But that will only burn the whole house down.