Peter Coleman, a professor of psychology and executive director of Columbia University’s Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict and Complexity puts America’s prospects this way:
The extraordinary shock to our system that the coronavirus pandemic is bringing has the potential to break America out of the 50-plus year pattern of escalating political and cultural polarization we have been trapped in, and help us to change course toward greater national solidarity and functionality. It might sound idealistic, but there are two reasons to think it can happen.
The first is the “common enemy” scenario, in which people begin to look past their differences when faced with a shared external threat. Covid-19 is presenting us with a formidable enemy that will not distinguish between reds and blues, and might provide us with fusion-like energy and a singularity of purpose to help us reset and regroup.
The second reason is the "political shock wave" scenario. Studes have shown that strong, enduring relational patterns often become more susceptible to change after some type of major shock destabilizes them. This doesn't necessarily happen right away, but a study of 850 enduring inter-state conflicts that occurred between 1816 and 1992 found that more than 75 percent of them ended within 10 years of a major destabilizing shock. Societal shocks can break different ways, making things better or worse. But given our current levels of tension, this scenario suggests that now is the time to begin to promote more constructive patterns in our cultural and political discourse. The time for change is clearly ripening.
The situation Americans face goes far beyond what Donald Trump does or doesn’t do, or what he can or cannot do. Partisan commitments aside, preparation for — and extreme measures to avoid — the worst of outcomes is both rational and necessary. We are in enough trouble as it is.