Statements like “don’t normalize that” and “that’s not normal” have become mainstream over the past twenty years. These expressions especially amped up around the 2016 election, when the fabric of American society felt like it was fraying more each day.

At first glance, statements about what is or is not normal seem fairly, well, normal. It’s not unusual to have societal standards or a sense of what is appropriate or inappropriate. But if the last decade has shown us anything, it’s that, as Bonnie Kristian writes at CT, “we are running perilously short on widely accepted norms.”

The modern cultural emphasis on the self makes it a challenge to determine a set of shared norms. Another election cycle is unlikely to help us mend any fractures or find common ground on a societal level. But there is hope for mending, for agreement, that starts closer to home. Perhaps we cannot design a set of shared values for a country to adopt, but we can find common ground to share with our neighbors. We may not be able to heal the hurts of a nation, but we can reduce the loneliness in the lives of the people next door or the nearby pew.

In doing so, may find that when all else is uncertain, we can embrace the norms of how Jesus lived his life on earth: remaining close to the heart of the Father and loving others even to the point of sacrifice.