WILLIAM BRANGHAM: On this Christmas Eve,# with the new year rapidly approaching,## many are gathering to reflect on the# past year and look towards the next.

For her series America at a Crossroads, our# Judy Woodruff has been traveling around the## country this year talking with grassroots# groups that are working on solutions to our## nation's deepest divides.

For her last piece# of the year, she reports from New Hampshire## on how some believe the answer to many of# our challenges may begin right at home.

JUDY WOODRUFF:## Winter has come again to New Hampshire and,# with it, snow, ice, freezing temperatures## and the need for plenty of firewood to keep# stoves roaring for the next several months.

In the small town of Richmond, Tom Tague# spent many years chopping his own wood,## but after receiving a pacemaker# now has to rely on others for help.

TOM TAGUE, Richmond, New Hampshire, Resident:# Most of my life, I have been on the side where## I'm serving and helping.

And now I'm on# the other side where sometimes I need help.

JUDY WOODRUFF: He found help from some volunteers# from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day## Saints.

He's been a member for 40 years, including# from 20-year-old Peter Brown, who's new to all of## this.

Brown says before joining the church# this year, he struggled with loneliness.

PETER BROWN, Member, Church of Jesus Christ# of Latter Day Saints: Since I was in school,## I never really had any friends,# to be honest.

There was a generic## friend where I would wave and say hi in# the classroom.

But when school was over,## there's no really ever opportunity# for me to get to know someone.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Through the church and# its service projects like this one,## he says he's found new community and purpose.

PETER BROWN: It makes me feel like I'm valued,# I'm able to help others, and I'm able to just be## myself, and able to be outdoors and talk to some# people that I wouldn't normally have been before.## I probably would be playing some sort of video# game.

But this really opens you up to others,## I guess.

It might make me emotional, but I'm# happy to have these people to support me.

SHAYLYN ROMNEY GARRETT, Co-Author, "The Upswing:## How America Came Together a Century Ago and#.. one of our deepest, deepes.. JUDY WOODRUFF: Shaylyn Romney Garrett# belongs to the same church in Keene.

SHAYLYN ROMNEY GARRETT: And when we don't have# that sense of belonging, our nervous system is## literally on fire.

We are vulnerable to# extreme views and to extreme behaviors,## because we feel so unsafe.

And I really think# that that's what's happening in America.

We## have so many people who just don't feel that# their basic need for connection is being met.

JUDY WOODRUFF: A writer and speaker, Garrett# co-wrote the 2020 book "The Upswing" with## political scientist Robert Putnam featured# in our first crossroads report this year.

That book described the many parallels# between our own time and the Gilded Age,## that late 19th century period marked by# technological change and Industrial Revolution,## widespread dislocation, growing# inequality and political corruption,## and tells how those earlier Americans# found their way out of those challenges.

Putnam told us in February that he had# assumed the economy would change first.

ROBERT PUTNAM, Harvard University: The one thing# that data show is, that's not true.

Economics was## the last thing to change.

So then what was# the first thing to change?

And to my shock,## it was cultural change.

It was a moral# revival, is the way I want to put it.

People began to say, wait a minute, it's not all# about us.

We have obligations to other people.

JUDY WOODRUFF: We have spent much of this# past year examining so-called bridging groups,## which attempt to connect people from across# lines of division to try to rebuild civic health.

As the year closes, we wanted to ask Garrett# whether she sees the kind of cultural change## she and Putnam think is needed.

SHAYLYN ROMNEY GARRETT: One of the## things that I see when I look at a# lot of the bridging initiatives that## are out there is that they're really# these sort of head-centered exercises.

First of all, they have this way of foregrounding# political identity as if it's defining.

So we## say we need to bridge Republicans with# Democrats.

But I wonder if we're really## hitting people in the heart, if we're actually# changing their feelings toward other people,## because so much of the political violence, so much# of the sort of extreme end of this polarization is## about the way we're behaving toward one another,# the sort of dehumanization of the other side.

And so I have begun to wonder, as I# have thought and watched this over time,## are we doing enough to help people# have a morally formative experience## when they're interacting with# someone who's unlike themselves,## rather than just an intellectual exercise to# try and find sort of ideological common ground?

JUDY WOODRUFF: And what does it take to# address the moral piece of this, the heart?

SHAYLYN ROMNEY GARRETT: One of# the things that we need to be## able to do is give people experiences# that help them feel genuine un.. genuine camaraderie with people in ways# that have nothing to do with politics.

And that's why, for me, I have really started# to lean into those kinds of communities that I## can find right outside my doorstep.

Instead of# saying, OK, I need to seek out someone who's## of a different political stripe, let's just# leave politics out of the conversation entirely## and approach each other as human beings who# are engaged in trying to get by in the world,## who all have problems, who have ways to# relate to one another on a human level.

And I think finding ways to serve one another# and really be in relationship on a much more## human level is what we need more of.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Garrett says that, rather## than looking to new groups and institutions# to help us out of this multifaceted crisis,## groups that often depend on philanthropic# dollars, which are now in greater demand## due to government cuts to programs, people# should look to themselves, to their neighbors,## and to their own communities to# figure out how they can give back.

SHAYLYN ROMNEY GARRETT: We have to# teach our children that succeeding## is not just about maximizing economic interest,## that succeeding is about creating communities# that thrive, which means giving, serving,## thinking about something bigger than# myself.

We're not doing enough of that.

JUDY WOODRUFF: At the LDS Church# that evening, Brattleboro, Vermont,## resident Carol Buffum joined a women's# group for food and conversation... WOMAN: We had your granddaughter# a couple weeks ago.

CAROL BUFFUM, Church of Jesus# Christ of Latter Day Saints: Yes.

JUDY WOODRUFF: ... to help p.. kits for the homeless and for an# ornament swap, a tradition here.

WOMAN: Nutcracker.

Don't look too closely.

(LAUGHTER) JUDY WOODRUFF: Like Peter Brown, Carol joined the church this year after struggling for many# other years with loneliness and isolation,## in her case, following an infection# that altered her appearance.

CAROL BUFFUM: I didn't leave my house for# five years after my staph infection that I## got.

People looked at me differently, pointed# at me, whispered.

And it bothered me a lot.## And then I met the missionaries and a couple# other people too helped.

But they said,## Carol, don't hide behind your mask,# because I wore the mask for years.

And then COVID happened.

And then everybody... JUDY WOODRUFF: Everybody was lonely.

CAROL BUFFUM: Everybody was.

So I .. and I saw it wasn't as bad as I thought it was.

JUDY WOODRUFF: She says she's so grateful for the# community she's found here, she wants to bring## that sense of connection back to her apartment# building to help others who might be struggling.

CAROL BUFFUM: I have a community room in my# building.

And it's free to all the tenants.

And## I have been talking about starting up a group for# people to just come and talk.

It's just something## to start.

If we don't do something, it's not going# to get better.

And I just want to make it better.

JUDY WOODRUFF: The point, Shaylyn Romney# Garrett says, is not that everyone needs## to join the Mormon Church or even a church.# But it's an example of a mutual aid network## that already exists and strengthens the# bonds of community, alongside things like## neighborhood associations and schools,# bonds that override our differences... MAN: You have much left of# your school this semester?

JUDY WOODRUFF: ... and, at this time# of year, the darkest in our hemisphere,## helping people like Carol# and Peter find the light.

SHAYLYN ROMNEY GARRETT: If you're one of# the majority of Americans who don't know## your neighbor, why don't you start by going# and meet your neighbor?

Introduce yourself.## Ask them if there's anything that you# can do for them.

You might find that,## living on your block, you have an elderly# woman who doesn't have any family support.

You might find that you have a 20-something young# man who spends most of his time in the basement## playing video games.

What can you do as a neighbor# to address those things?

I don't think we need to## wait for a church to tell us that we should do# that.

I can actually just ask myself, what kind## of world do I want to live in?

And how do I enact# that right now with the person across the street?

JUDY WOODRUFF: As we look to another year,# when our country marks 250 years since the## Declaration of Independence, I will continue# to report on how those original ideals are## measuring up to our present and how we might# continue our search for a more perfect union.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Judy# Woodruff in Keene, New Hampshire.