Note that this is not a case where one side holds problematic views while the other does not. Democrats and Republicans harbor hatred for members of the opposing party in nearly equal measures, and both view anti-democratic practices with nearly equal regard. This corroborates data from the Pew Research Institute, which has found that partisan animosity has risen and is widely shared by each party’s supporters.

The poll points to a frightening future, but we have resolved such moments before. We have done this peacefully, aside from the Civil War, because shrewd leaders such as Thomas Jefferson defused conflicts by persuading large numbers of the other side’s partisans to defect to new coalitions. Supermajorities of Americans supported these coalitions over many elections, establishing a new political order democratically. The new regime also did not suppress the basic rights of its adversaries, maintaining commitment to free speech, free elections and the rule of law. That political understanding and skill is why America’s experiment in self-government has endured for so long.

The cup of conflict will not pass from our lips no matter how much we pray. We will pass through this trial strong and intact only if we imitate Jefferson and are guided more by what we will build than by whom we will destroy. Our edifice must have as its cornerstone the fundamental American truth: “that all men are created equal … endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” Only dedication to that principle will enable us to transcend our present division into warring tribes and recover the shared sense of citizenship we so sorely want and need.