By Joe Angelucci
The 2026 midterm elections are over. Maps are split into sharp blocks of red and blue, and hyper-partisan pundits are busy declaring winners and losers, each predicting our own demise due to the other. But if you turn off the screen and talk to your neighbors, a very different picture emerges.
Despite the constant noise online, most Americans—no matter who they voted for—are staying awake at night worrying about the exact same things. If we want to fix our broken political system, we have to stop treating each other like enemies. Mutual respect won’t just appear out of nowhere; we must build it by focusing on the real, everyday problems that affect all of us.
Take the economy. On the news, politicians argue endlessly over complex theories. But at the grocery store, everyone feels the exact same pinch. The stress of watching a paycheck buy less, the dread of a high utility bill, and the fear of a sudden medical expense are not partisan experiences. A working-class family in a rural town and a family renting an apartment in the city are facing the exact same pain. Recognizing that we are all fighting the same financial battle is the first step toward finding real solutions.
The safety of our families is another shared experience. Every parent, Democrat or Republican, wants the same basic things: safe schools, secure neighborhoods, and clean, healthy communities. We might disagree on how to fix these problems, but our baseline goals are identical. When we realize the “other side” loves their children just as much as we do, it becomes much harder to hate.
Almost everyone is completely exhausted by a system where hyper-partisan ad campaigns just shattered records with nearly $12 billion in midterm spending. We are tired of the flood of dark money, frustrated by billionaires trying to buy our votes, and sick of the constant anger fed to us by social media. There is a widespread, shared desire for a government that simply works—one that focuses on getting things done.
Our digital world is driven by networks designed to divide us, trapping us in echo chambers that amplify our worst fears of one another. But real-world communities do not operate like online networks. In real life, our vulnerabilities and our hopes overlap seamlessly.
We have spent years focusing on everything that divides us. It is time to start looking at what we share. By focusing on our common worries, we can move past the constant anger and build a country one community at a time.
Joe Angelucci is a resident of Edenton.
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