As the chief executive officer and chairperson of The Clorox Company, Linda Rendle knows well that environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) have become controversial concepts in some business and political circles.

To state the obvious, it’s a complex world out there. You can’t read or watch the news, look at social media, or go anywhere without seeing the divisiveness in the world on so many topics.

When I stepped into my role on July 1, 2020, the American public was thoroughly shaken by the pandemic, by the violence and crime, and by the tragedy and uncertainty we were facing as a nation.

By almost every measure, America is becoming more polarized. We often disagree not just about opinions, but about basic facts. And while researchers, political scientists, academics and others can debate the underlying cause, there is broad agreement that polarization by its very nature comes from the lack of the common.

My father set a powerful example for me. In public and in private, and in all of his dealings, he exemplified civility and taught me and my siblings the importance of doing your level best to support your community and remember how to draw on our collective traits.

I think the path to understanding begins with honest, open conversations. Deciding to listen with open ears and an open heart brings us together.  We need to seek to really understand each other. We need to demonstrate empathy. If we can make these individual connections, we can strengthen our communities and nation.

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.

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.

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.