SCRANTON -- With the recent violence in Las Vegas, it seems time and time again Americans are dealing with tragedy and conflict.
Newswatch 16 spoke with people from all different backgrounds who say the nation is certainly divided. With the many issues tearing Americans apart, it's more important than ever to find common ground.
2017 has been a year of one major event happening after another, everything from the back and forth over immigration, the NFL protests, and natural disasters affecting places like Texas, Florida, and the Caribbean.
Now, the mass shooting in Las Vegas is sparking up the gun control debate.
They are the kind of controversies that have people talking everywhere.
Joseph Marciano studies political science at the University of Scranton. He says his classes have been unorthodox.
"The huge separation between the liberals and the conservatives, it's really showing how people are choosing their viewpoints over the collective in the country," Marciano said.
Marciano says the media play a huge role in what people see and how they act.
"Depending on where you are getting your news is how you are going to think and depending on what your showing on the news is what you're going to be passionate about," he said.
At the King of Fades barbershop, all walks of life come and sit in Tyson Joyner's chair. The barbershop on Penn Avenue in Scranton is a popular place to talk about current events, just not at this pace.
"It's never been this many tragedies happening just constantly over and over, like things always happen but these last couple years, before you get one off your memory something else tragic happens," Joyner said.
The father of two girls admits it's difficult explaining everything to them.
"It makes you numb to stuff. It's like that's nothing that happens all the time and it shouldn't be like that."
Cindy Pearl has lived in Scranton most of her life and says the political climate in the United States is very distressing.
"We need to have civil thoughts and feelings for each other and even if you don't mean it, fake it until you make it," Pearl said.
Some we talked with today summed up our divided country with this quote: "People hate with they don't understand, and hate what they can't conquer."
Folks also say the first step to seeing each other's viewpoint is sitting at the same table.