Lilly Barickman: We’ve forgotten how to disagree

June 18, 2026

Americans have stopped seeing political disagreement as a difference of opinion and started seeing it as a moral threat.

As America approaches its 250th anniversary, the country finds itself deeply divided—politically, culturally and socially.

I first wrote about political division as a high school student in 2018 and again in college in 2021. At the time, I believed the country was already dangerously divided. Looking back now, I realize we were only at the beginning.

In the years since, the political divide in the United States has evolved from heated disagreement into something deeper: distrust.

Political division itself is not new.

Our Founding Fathers warned about factions from the beginning of the republic, and Americans have always argued passionately about the direction of the country.

But today’s polarization feels different because politics no longer stay confined to Washington. With 24-hour news cycles, social media and algorithm-driven outrage, it follows Americans everywhere—into family dinners, friendships, workplaces and everyday conversations.

Every controversy becomes breaking news. Every disagreement becomes content. Every opinion becomes part of someone’s identity.

We no longer disagree with each other. We distrust each other.

I’ve watched people assume motives before listening. I’ve watched disagreement become betrayal and middle ground disappear entirely.

Families avoid political conversations to keep peace during holidays. Friendships end over elections. Increasingly, Americans view those on the other side not simply as wrong, but as immoral.

This instinct isn’t unique to Republicans or Democrats. It’s become embedded in America’s broader political culture. Political identity has stopped being something Americans hold and has become something Americans are.

Part of the problem is that outrage is profitable.

Political compromise rarely spreads, rarely trends and rarely becomes a headline. What dominates social media and news cycles is what is loudest, angriest and most divisive.

As a result, Americans are immersed in a constant stream of conflict, and over time, conflict begins to feel normal, living in a country where many people feel emotionally exhausted by politics, yet unable to escape it.

Some believe the division is exaggerated. Others believe it has become irreversible.

There’s no single event, party or figure responsible for America’s divide, and there’s no quick fix. What has changed is not one moment in time, but a steady shift in how Americans are shaped by culture, technology and incentives that reward conflict over understanding.

Still, most people recognize that something fundamental has changed in how Americans relate to one another. The problem is no longer simply political disagreement. It’s the growing inability to see one another as people before partisans.

What can Americans do now?

As the United States prepares to celebrate 250 years of independence, Americans will gather for fireworks and celebrations honoring the nation’s founding. But the anniversary should also encourage reflection about the kind of country we want to be.

America has always had disagreements. Debate is part of democracy itself. Americans don’t have to agree on everything to function as a country. But we do have to relearn how to disagree without treating one another like enemies.

Perhaps it starts smaller than politics. Maybe it means returning to a principle many were taught as children: treating others the way we would want to be treated, even when that respect isn’t returned.

Because if politics continues to replace community, outrage replaces conversation and identity replaces humanity, the question is no longer simply which party will win the next election—but what kind of country we are becoming as we approach 250 years.

That answer depends on whether Americans can learn to see one another as neighbors again before we see each other as opponents.

Lilly Barickman is the senior manager of communications & engagement at the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce.