Writer and commentator Jonathan Ayling reflects on a tense, anticlimactic election night and the negative, at times racist and abusive, online campaigning highlighted by recent Victoria University research into political Facebook posts. He shares how attending church the morning after voting, and joining others in singing, became an unexpected antidote to political hangover and division.

Ayling argues New Zealand's liberal democracy depends on citizens actively contributing to shared, non-political common ground rather than outsourcing "social cohesion" to government or professionals, warning that rising identitarian politics and polarization - even within churches - erode the unity that makes differing political views safe to hold. He calls for everyday participation in churches, sports clubs and schools to rebuild that cohesion, rather than passively waiting for politicians to heal divides.

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