Four hundred and forty-six. That’s how many bridges Pittsburgh holds within its city limits. We’re the famous “City of Bridges”, and yet I argue we should build so many more—not just here in our lovely 412, but nationally. Globally. 

Of course, I don’t actually want every region to begin drawing up blueprints right now. I couldn't care less about physical bridges–unless, obviously, one could be built to spare me the traffic on Forbes Avenue every day. But until that feat can be achieved, no, the bridges I’m referring to reside more on the metaphorical side of things. 

The bridges that stretch between people. The bridges that help connect us to humanity. 

After all, humanity survives on these overpasses. We are united, and we are free by the bonds we share with one another. It is only through these bridges that we can truly understand someone and their differing beliefs. It is only by crossing these mental barriers that we can truly see life in a new way. 

Especially in today’s political and social age, we need these bridges now more than ever. Our connections with other people, nations, and cultures are at risk of being burned rather than forged. Connections that were once strong between different people have been abandoned. Have been broken. 

What happens when the world has no bridges left? Will we be able to put our differences aside for the greater good if our only path to empathy has been destroyed? 

I hope we never have to witness the answer to those questions. 

Building a physical bridge takes collaborative effort, hard work, and a hell of a lot of time. Social bridges are the same in that sense, yet they differ because a mental bridge can begin with just one person. You can be the one to initiate a bridge to another person. You can begin building the infrastructure needed to support the connection. It takes one person to begin this journey to peace. 

We have four hundred and forty-six bridges, but I wonder how many more we can create if we put our differences aside and our construction hats on.