{"id":46515,"date":"2025-12-18T17:46:40","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T17:46:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/?p=46515"},"modified":"2026-01-05T16:20:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T16:20:09","slug":"6-things-that-restored-our-faith-in-humanity-this-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/12\/18\/6-things-that-restored-our-faith-in-humanity-this-year\/","title":{"rendered":"6 Things That Restored Our Faith in Humanity This Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you spent any time online this year, it would\u2019ve been reasonable to conclude that everything is broken, everyone hates each other, and civilization is being held together by duct tape and spite.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And yet\u2014zoom out just a little\u2014and a far more hopeful story emerges.<\/span><\/p>\n

2025 was full of moments that reminded us of something important: even in divided times, people continue to find ways to show up, work together, and surprise each other.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are six things that gave us real hope this year.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

1. Peace Came Back Into View<\/b><\/h3>\n

For much of the last few years, peace in places like Gaza, Israel, Ukraine, and Russia felt <\/span>unrealistic. In 2025, it started to feel possible<\/span>\u00a0again.<\/span><\/p>\n

The suffering didn\u2019t stop, and for many people it remains unbearable. But amid the loss, sustained diplomatic efforts, ceasefire talks, humanitarian corridors, and renewed international pressure began to point toward something that had felt absent for a long time: the possibility of de-escalation. That matters. History shows peace usually arrives not with fireworks, but with slow\u2014sometimes frustratingly so\u2014deeply imperfect steps forward.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hope doesn\u2019t mean pretending the work is done. It means believing the work is still worth doing.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2. Bipartisan Bills Quietly Did Their Thing<\/b><\/h3>\n

You\u2019d never know it from cable news, but 2025 included a number of bipartisan bills that actually passed on things voters overwhelmingly agree on.<\/span><\/p>\n

Healthcare expansion<\/span><\/a> for people recovering from opioid addiction. Increased <\/span>financial support<\/span><\/a> for disabled veterans. <\/span>Funding<\/span><\/a> for rural school districts and county services in areas hit by disasters.<\/span><\/p>\n

Were they sweeping, system-overhauling masterpieces? No. But they were evidence of something increasingly rare: lawmakers working together for the American people.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3. When Disaster Struck, People Didn\u2019t Ask Who You Voted For<\/b><\/h3>\n

If 2025 reminded us of anything, it\u2019s that nature doesn\u2019t care about party affiliation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And neither did the people who showed up afterward.<\/span><\/p>\n

When devastating wildfires erupted in California, <\/span>neighbors cleared streets<\/span><\/a> for emergency vehicles and mobilized to get homeless people out of camps and to secure locations away from the fires. When floods tore through the Texas Hill Country, <\/span>neighbors rescued neighbors<\/span><\/a> and set up makeshift relief stations days before the county showed up. When a tornado flattened North St. Louis, community volunteers created their own organization, \u201c<\/span>People\u2019s Response<\/span><\/a>,\u201d to clean up the community and coordinate door-to-door deliveries. Across the country, donations poured in to help affected communities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In crises, ideology fades fast. What remains is a very human instinct: <\/span>help the person in front of you<\/span><\/i>. That instinct is still alive and well.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

4. Even Some of Our Loudest Partisans Started Softening Their Edges<\/b><\/h3>\n

Leaders on both sides of the aisle called for more cross-party unity in 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n

Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MINN) publicly <\/span>urged fellow lawmakers<\/span><\/a> to \u201cmitigate inflamed rhetoric\u201d after Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were shot and killed, calling for more civility in political discourse. Governor Spencer Cox (R-UT) <\/span>encouraged Americans<\/span><\/a> to \u201cchoose a different path\u201d following the shooting of Charlie Kirk.<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the more unexpected shifts this year came from people we\u2019re used to hearing in all-caps.<\/span><\/p>\n

Liberal commentator Dean Withers wept during his <\/span>heartfelt message<\/span><\/a> condemning Kirk\u2019s shooting, despite having vehemently disagreed with the Republican activist. Firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) <\/span>said<\/span><\/a> she regretted taking part in what she called \u201ctoxic politics\u201d and announced her resignation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When people who benefit from outrage start questioning it, that\u2019s worth paying attention to.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

5. Everyday Americans Kept Showing Up to Bridge Divides\u2014Even When They Didn\u2019t Think They Could<\/b><\/h3>\n

During our <\/span>Citizen Solutions session<\/span><\/a> in Texas, we brought together people from across the state with very different backgrounds and political views\u2014many of whom arrived convinced that productive conversation across those differences was impossible.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead, they shared personal experiences with the healthcare system and worked side by side to develop practical healthcare solutions they could agree on despite their differences.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over and over, participants told us some version of the same thing: <\/span>\u201cI didn\u2019t think I could do this\u2014but I can.\u201d<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

6. Hundreds of Thousands of People Chose to Be Builders<\/b><\/h3>\n

In 2025, the Builders Movement grew to over 4 million members strong across our communities.<\/span><\/p>\n

Those numbers aren\u2019t about us\u2014they\u2019re about what they represent.<\/span><\/p>\n

In a year saturated with division, hundreds of thousands of people actively chose a different posture: unity over outrage, problem-solving over point-scoring, humanity over hostility.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s not a fringe impulse. It\u2019s a quiet majority raising its hand and saying, <\/span>\u201cThere has to be a better way\u2014and I\u2019m willing to help build it.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A Builderly Resolution for the Year Ahead<\/b><\/h3>\n

Hope isn\u2019t passive. It\u2019s a decision.<\/span><\/p>\n

As we head into a new year, our resolution isn\u2019t to pretend differences don\u2019t exist or that hard problems will magically resolve themselves. It\u2019s to take these moments as precedent.<\/span><\/p>\n

People can work together.<\/span>
\n<\/span>Conversations can change minds.<\/span>
\n<\/span>Trust can be rebuilt.<\/span>
\n<\/span>Systems can improve\u2014if citizens stay involved.<\/span><\/p>\n

Being a Builder doesn\u2019t mean being endlessly optimistic. It means being stubbornly committed to the idea that we\u2019re better off building together than tearing each other apart.<\/span><\/p>\n

And if 2025 taught us anything, it\u2019s that we\u2019re far from alone in believing that.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Alex Buscemi (abuscemi@buildersmovement.org<\/a>)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n


\nHelp turn common ground into real change<\/b><\/h3>\n

You\u2019re a Builder, which means you, like us, believe that most Americans agree more than the loudest voices want us to believe\u2014and that solutions are possible when people come before politics. In a world where extremists seek to divide for power and profit, Builders take action to unite, create, and bring light to the world. Support the development of new media, tools, and platforms to help us give power back to the people.<\/span><\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc49 <\/span>Support the Builders Movement<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you spent any time online this year, it would\u2019ve been reasonable to conclude that everything is broken, everyone hates each other, and civilization is being held together by duct tape and spite.\u00a0 And yet\u2014zoom out just a little\u2014and a far more hopeful story emerges. 2025 was full of moments that reminded us of something…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":46516,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"collection_feed":[],"type_feed":[77],"class_list":["post-46515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n6 Things That Restored Our Faith in Humanity This Year - Builders<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Moments that restored our faith in humanity, from bipartisan progress to everyday Americans choosing unity over outrage.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/12\/18\/6-things-that-restored-our-faith-in-humanity-this-year\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"6 Things That Restored Our Faith in Humanity This Year - Builders\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Moments that restored our faith in humanity, from bipartisan progress to everyday Americans choosing unity over outrage.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/12\/18\/6-things-that-restored-our-faith-in-humanity-this-year\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Builders\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-18T17:46:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-05T16:20:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Builders_BlogImage_Newsletter-21.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1506\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"859\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/12\/18\/6-things-that-restored-our-faith-in-humanity-this-year\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/12\/18\/6-things-that-restored-our-faith-in-humanity-this-year\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"abuscemi\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/#\/schema\/person\/70e349194917307728e72f5f246e3d95\"},\"headline\":\"6 Things That Restored Our Faith in Humanity This Year\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-18T17:46:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-05T16:20:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/12\/18\/6-things-that-restored-our-faith-in-humanity-this-year\/\"},\"wordCount\":981,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/12\/18\/6-things-that-restored-our-faith-in-humanity-this-year\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Builders_BlogImage_Newsletter-21.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/12\/18\/6-things-that-restored-our-faith-in-humanity-this-year\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/12\/18\/6-things-that-restored-our-faith-in-humanity-this-year\/\",\"name\":\"6 Things That Restored Our Faith in Humanity This Year - Builders\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/12\/18\/6-things-that-restored-our-faith-in-humanity-this-year\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/12\/18\/6-things-that-restored-our-faith-in-humanity-this-year\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Builders_BlogImage_Newsletter-21.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-18T17:46:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-05T16:20:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/#\/schema\/person\/70e349194917307728e72f5f246e3d95\"},\"description\":\"Moments that restored our faith in humanity, from bipartisan progress to everyday Americans choosing unity over outrage.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/12\/18\/6-things-that-restored-our-faith-in-humanity-this-year\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/12\/18\/6-things-that-restored-our-faith-in-humanity-this-year\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/12\/18\/6-things-that-restored-our-faith-in-humanity-this-year\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Builders_BlogImage_Newsletter-21.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Builders_BlogImage_Newsletter-21.jpg\",\"width\":1506,\"height\":859},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/12\/18\/6-things-that-restored-our-faith-in-humanity-this-year\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"6 Things That Restored Our Faith in Humanity This Year\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/\",\"name\":\"Builders\",\"description\":\"Rise Above Us vs Them. Be a Builder\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"6 Things That Restored Our Faith in Humanity This Year - Builders","description":"Moments that restored our faith in humanity, from bipartisan progress to everyday Americans choosing unity over outrage.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/12\/18\/6-things-that-restored-our-faith-in-humanity-this-year\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"6 Things That Restored Our Faith in Humanity This Year - Builders","og_description":"Moments that restored our faith in humanity, from bipartisan progress to everyday Americans choosing unity over outrage.","og_url":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/12\/18\/6-things-that-restored-our-faith-in-humanity-this-year\/","og_site_name":"Builders","article_published_time":"2025-12-18T17:46:40+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-01-05T16:20:09+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1506,"height":859,"url":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Builders_BlogImage_Newsletter-21.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/12\/18\/6-things-that-restored-our-faith-in-humanity-this-year\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/12\/18\/6-things-that-restored-our-faith-in-humanity-this-year\/"},"author":{"name":"abuscemi","@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/#\/schema\/person\/70e349194917307728e72f5f246e3d95"},"headline":"6 Things That Restored Our Faith in Humanity This Year","datePublished":"2025-12-18T17:46:40+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-05T16:20:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/12\/18\/6-things-that-restored-our-faith-in-humanity-this-year\/"},"wordCount":981,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/12\/18\/6-things-that-restored-our-faith-in-humanity-this-year\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Builders_BlogImage_Newsletter-21.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/12\/18\/6-things-that-restored-our-faith-in-humanity-this-year\/","url":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/12\/18\/6-things-that-restored-our-faith-in-humanity-this-year\/","name":"6 Things That Restored Our Faith in Humanity This Year - Builders","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/12\/18\/6-things-that-restored-our-faith-in-humanity-this-year\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/12\/18\/6-things-that-restored-our-faith-in-humanity-this-year\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Builders_BlogImage_Newsletter-21.jpg","datePublished":"2025-12-18T17:46:40+00:00","dateModified":"2026-01-05T16:20:09+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/#\/schema\/person\/70e349194917307728e72f5f246e3d95"},"description":"Moments that restored our faith in humanity, from bipartisan progress to everyday Americans choosing unity over outrage.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/12\/18\/6-things-that-restored-our-faith-in-humanity-this-year\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/12\/18\/6-things-that-restored-our-faith-in-humanity-this-year\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/12\/18\/6-things-that-restored-our-faith-in-humanity-this-year\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Builders_BlogImage_Newsletter-21.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Builders_BlogImage_Newsletter-21.jpg","width":1506,"height":859},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/2025\/12\/18\/6-things-that-restored-our-faith-in-humanity-this-year\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"6 Things That Restored Our Faith in Humanity This Year"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/","name":"Builders","description":"Rise Above Us vs Them. Be a Builder","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46515"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46515\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46515"},{"taxonomy":"collection_feed","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/collection_feed?post=46515"},{"taxonomy":"type_feed","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buildersmovement.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type_feed?post=46515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}