As the season of giving approaches, giving impetus to reflection on the year that’s passed and contemplation on what’s important for the year to come, now’s a good time for a gratitude check.

The last decade has been an increasingly tempestuous time, with polarizing, radical politics creating division not only throughout the country, but inside families.

It’s important to remember that we, as a society, have more in common than greater forces at work would like us to believe.