Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the weeks ahead will be difficult for all and unimaginable for some. But amid the hardship and heartbreak, there is reason for hope.

Alexis de Tocqueville hailed the strength of America’s communities as a hallmark of our exceptionalism. Two centuries later, we live in one of the most politically fractured times in recent history. Globalization, the rise of social media as the new town square, and pervasive ideological division have caused some in recent years to question whether the traits that once defined American communities of all types still exist. We’d begun to believe that we were merely a collection of self-absorbed individuals, “bowling alone” in geographic proximity to one another. And while some of those critiques may have resonance, the public’s response to the coronavirus pandemic over the past several days is evidence that the demise of the American community may have been vastly overstated.