Witness: "Rife with divisions," but local civility offers reason for hope

A witness testifying in the confirmation hearings said the country is "rife with divisions and our democracy seems broken in so many ways," framing the session around concerns about political polarization and civic strain. The speaker said this observation is tempered by on-the-ground experience that reveals more ordinary cooperation than public discourse implies.

The witness told the panel that travel and work with young people informed their view that "we are not as divided as our politics or our media would indicate," adding that the loud, polarized dialogue is "in part manufactured for a variety of interests." The speaker pointed to recent advances in civil rights, women's rights and LGBTQ rights as evidence that progress has not been broadly reversed and argued those gains matter in assessing the nation's civic health. The transcript does not specify the hearing date or the witness's name.