Masks, lockdowns and social distancing: Rarely has government policy polarized society as it did during the COVID-19 pandemic. What can be done to heal social rifts and be better prepared?

Rich Scherr is a seasoned journalist and editor who has traveled across the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and spent more than a decade reviewing hotel room.

About six-in-ten voters who belong to a union identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party, while about four-in-ten associate with the GOP. Americans’ grim political mood and desire for change ...