Judgment of certain aspects of this video aside, this ad makes an interesting point (while asking us to consider what it means when a corporation enters a politically charged environment with a message like this). 

I listened in. The customer had been a middle school teacher in Oakland for twenty years before a career change, and before that, she had grown up in Oakland and been to schools in the flats and the hills. 

"I feel like America is clashing on their opinions. It seems like before, people were okay if you had your opinion and I had my opinion. No one was trying to force their opinions on each other."

"I'm a Christian. I think God's got it." 

"We feel like the future is uncertain. There are so many possibilities," one told me. "People are speaking their minds, and it's creating a lot of clashing." 

"Pardon my French ma'am, but we're fucked."

"I appreciate the diverseness of America, and I hope that doesn't change with the new president." 

"Did you know over 50% of American's aren't prepared to financially take on a $400 emergency? When you think about it that way, a lot of the divide makes sense." 

As I shucked my jacket in preparation for spin class, I overheard two men discussing the current administration. Direct quote

"I'd love to see one-tenth of the outrage about the state of our lives out here that you have for Muslims from another country. You have no idea what our lives are like."

Are you guys keeping up with the NYT interactive project, Hyphen-Nation? No? Oh my stars, go now.

"I just can't believe this is happening. In the United States of America."  A composer would have written a long staccato over each word of the proper noun as she spoke. 

Whether you're red, blue, purple, or opting out of colors these days, this interactive Wall Street Journal graphic look at what different people see in their feed on the same day are a fascinating peek into what it means to be an American on a very social-media level. 

We disagree on the how, but we shouldn’t disagree on the what. We all want good, safe, and free lives. When someone you love is threatened with the loss of those things, please stand up on your side of the line and oppose him.

"I feel concerned," he told me. "If humans are trying to make ourselves extinct, we couldn't be doing a better job of it." 

"I feel really good about America."

"One thing they've done since dropping out is go to seminars. And heck, they keep on going. And inviting me. They were always wanting me to go, too. You know whose seminar they loved the most? Donald J. Trump."

"I was in Japan on Election day," she told me. "I called my mom on FaceTime and we cried together. She wished I could just stay in Japan. I asked her if anything in American every felt this dire before."