Talk to each other.

That exhortation comes up frequently in our coverage of politics and culture, where division is rife. Robert Putnam, who famously identified – 24 years ago – Americans’ growing social isolation, told the Monitor earlier this month of his concerns about the divides that have resulted from it. He recently told The New York Times, “We’re in a really important turning point in American history.”

More than a few Americans agree, and at least some are venturing past invisible barriers that have grown up over years. Take the volunteers in a violence prevention initiative in Pennsylvania, which the Monitor has followed over the past year and which you can read about in today’s story. In a society where forums for cross-pollination have waned, the effort, funded by the Department of Homeland Security, has engaged people from varied backgrounds and viewpoints. As reporter Simon Montlake writes, “This is a story about everyday Americans ... a story of hopes, fears, and a determination to discover what it means to build peace in a democracy under stress.”