Lately, this lyric plays on loop in my head—not just as a song, but as a reflection of the emotional gridlock so many of us are experiencing. I’ve been reflecting on the relationships that feel strained or even lost—not over betrayal, distance, or time—but over beliefs. Over the media we consume, over the suspicion that “you’re talking behind my back and I don’t share your values,” even when it’s just a different worldview.
I grew up in Washington, DC, surrounded by debate, negotiation, and contrast. Passion and policy lived side-by-side. You could disagree and still share a table. There was more room for grace. For curiosity. For thoughtful, engaged dialogue.
Now, after a few elections and six years living in Boca Raton, Florida, I feel the emotional air has changed. The divides feel deeper. The conversations are less open. Priorities here are often different than those of my peers in DC—not wrong, not right—just different. I don’t live in an echo chamber, nor have I these past years, but I see how easy it is to fall into one. It’s as if we’re watching different movies, reading from different scripts, and yet living under the same sky.
“Why can’t you see what you’re doing to me, when you don’t believe a word I say?” That lyric hits hard
According to Time Magazine, 50% of Americans have cut off a relationship due to political disagreements. That’s half. Let that sink in.
What I can’t quite reconcile is this: many of the people I now feel a continuum of distance from are still deeply good people. They love their kids, show up for their neighbors, and care about their communities. How can they hold such different beliefs?
It’s confusing. It’s heartbreaking. And it’s real.
Maybe, just maybe, we’re all “caught in a trap”—and the trap is fear. The trap is algorithm-fed mistrust. The trap is mistaking disagreement for disloyalty. Cult-like. We all yearn for psychological safety, and that increases tribalism.
This isn’t a post to resolve the divide. It’s a plea to sit with the paradox. To acknowledge that we are losing so much—connection, collaboration, empathy—by staying suspicious with all our fears.
And yet, the concept of psychological safety fuels the work I do at Twomentor—building bridges between generations, across industries, and through mentorship. When we talk across differences, not around them, we restore something powerful: human connection.
In June, I’ll be heading back to DC for a leadership conference. I’m looking forward to it more than usual. Not just for the content, but for the connections and welcoming additional perspectives. For the conversations that stretch us, that remind us who we are, and who we still have the power to be.
If we truly believe in leadership, in community, in impact, we can’t build those dreams on suspicious minds.
Let’s start the conversation. Let’s stay in it—even when it’s uncomfortable.
And this time, let’s not walk out so fast.
#SuspiciousMinds #PoliticalPolarization #DCtoFlorida #LeadershipMatters #MentoringMatters #EmpathyInAction #BridgeBuilders #CivicHealing #Twomentor #ConnectionCulture #ListeningIsLeadership
