We can transform the tide of rising rancor, deepening division and increasing isolation into a wave of respect, connection and belonging.

America is crying out in pain. A pandemic marked by physical distancing sparked hope of social solidarity across differences that have increasingly defined us. Yet now our hearts and streets burn with rage over injustice, callousness and cruelty.

For almost 250 years, America has been an experiment, aspiring — at our best — to be a shining city upon a hill casting beacon lights of freedom, equality and opportunity. Out of our darkest hours, we've seen the "better angels of our nature" maintain bonds of affection.

But there's a wrenching feeling that the American experiment is failing before our eyes.

For it to finally succeed we must boldly and bravely confront the long legacy of racism, bigotry and all means of othering our neighbors. Before bandaging a wound, you must first clean it out. That process is painful but necessary to healing.

Indeed, I pray we'll one day recognize these horrific events as the groanings of rebirth. That through this hurting, we'll find healing. That from this pain will emerge possibility. That together we can create the life, and country, we all want.

Will the American ideal be a story of failure or be finally realized? That is up to us.

Will we retreat into our comfortable, homogeneous tribes and lash out? Or will we step out and bravely step forward into a different future? A future built on fresh, authentic relationships that weave a stronger social fabric in local communities and build bridges across our differences.