Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, says he experienced two very different reactions in society related to the development of the company’s COVID-19 vaccine. The first was a hero’s welcome.

During 2020, we have experienced a range of emotions – from those related to the COVID-19 pandemic to those stemming from racial violence and injustice. In both cases, my inspiration and hope for the future come not only from seeing how people have reached out to others and how they have come together to solve problems, but also how they’ve done so despite their differences.

As the leader of an organization that empowers people to live better as they age, and as the mother of a son and daughter—both millennials—I am disheartened by the deterioration of civil discourse in this country. We have become a polarized nation. It appears dialogue, bipartisanship, cooperation and the ability to compromise have all but disappeared.

As a college student in Argentina 35 years ago, we had very limited access to textbooks. When it came time to study, we had to check out books from the campus library, take them across the street to make photocopies of the pages we needed, and then return the books to the library.

As the nation’s political polarization teeters on the toxic, the downstream consequences are becoming apparent. These include political gridlock, erosion of faith in institutions, extremism, social unrest, and even violence. This begs the question: Why are Americans so bitterly divided over politics? Did we choose this?

In 2019, nine in 10 business leaders reported feeling concerned about the state of our democracy. Half felt they had a personal responsibility to act. They are not alone—even before the pandemic, large majorities of Americans expressed dissatisfaction with the direction of the country, and trust in American democracy is falling.

Southwest Airlines’ legendary founder, Chairman-Emeritus, and my mentor and friend (and hero!) once wisely said, “The business of business is People.” Herb Kelleher had it right, as he always did.

During 2020, COVID-19 has quickly demonstrated how truly interconnected we are as a global society, but geo-political, economic, and racial tensions, paradoxically, have at the same time magnified our differences and overshadowed what unites us – our collective humanity.

During days spent in the federal government early in my career, I formed a theory. I believed it was business (and usually big business) that had a greater capacity than government to advance civil society.

This year we have seen a financial pandemic hit with tremendous force as companies and businesses closed or reduced their workforces at a record-setting pace. This was not about maximizing profits; it was about pure survival.

The health of our democracy is unconditionally linked to our ability to freely talk about it and that we have a marketplace of ideas and public venues in which we can test our thinking—right or wrong, without risk to our personal liberty—is arguably as important as who wins or loses the elections that determine the fate of those ideas.

As CEO of Merck, Ken Frazier didn’t shy away from taking a position or making a statement that he knew some employees might disagree with. But whenever he did so, he also listened to their views.

We live in an increasingly complex world where companies, governments, unions and special interest groups vie for time, attention and favorable circumstances for their respective institutions.

Discord and divisiveness are not new conditions in America. But the degree to which this country is divided and polarized today is unprecedented.

In business, building consensus is a fact of life. The companies, both large and small, that ultimately succeed are those propelled by a can-do spirit and a relentless drive for solutions.

When Indra Nooyi assumed the role of CEO at PepsiCo in 2006, she says the company was in strong fiscal shape.