So, it’s come to this. A new real estate platform called Oyssey is now offering homebuyers the chance to scope out their future neighbors’ political affiliations before signing on the dotted line. That’s right—your search for the perfect home now includes an optional peek into your neighbor’s voting history. Welcome to 2024, where even buying a house has to be a political statement.

On the surface, this might sound like a harmless feature. Who wouldn’t want to know if their new neighborhood leans red or blue? After all, who you live next to can make a big difference in how comfortable you feel at the next block party—or if there’s even a block party to begin with. But let’s not kid ourselves: this isn’t just about community vibes. This is about the deep divisions that are tearing the fabric of this country apart and, apparently, extending all the way to our picket fences.

Oyssey claims it’s just meeting demand. The platform uses public data like voting records and campaign contributions to give buyers a sense of a neighborhood’s political leanings. Want to avoid an HOA full of progressive activists? Or maybe steer clear of a cul-de-sac full of Trump supporters? Oyssey’s got you covered. They say it’s all about helping people find communities where they’ll feel at home. But let’s be honest: this is segregation by ideology, wrapped in a slick marketing package.

The implications here are staggering. We’ve already seen what happens when Americans retreat into their echo chambers online. Social media has turned into a battlefield of outrage and division, with algorithms feeding us exactly what we want to hear—and nothing we don’t. Now, we’re taking that same mentality offline and into our neighborhoods. It’s not enough to disagree with your neighbor; you have to avoid them altogether.

And let’s not ignore the slippery slope this creates. Today, it’s political affiliations. Tomorrow, will we be sorting neighborhoods by religion? By income level? By whether or not they drive an electric car? The line between useful information and invasive profiling gets blurrier with every new feature these platforms roll out.

But perhaps the most ironic part of all this is the idea that political alignment equals harmony. As if knowing your neighbor voted for the same candidate guarantees you’ll get along. Newsflash: people are complicated. Just because someone shares your politics doesn’t mean you’ll see eye-to-eye on everything. And conversely, some of the best friendships are built on mutual respect despite political differences. By using tools like Oyssey to preemptively wall ourselves off, we’re losing out on the chance to build bridges—something this country desperately needs.

Of course, this isn’t happening in a vacuum. The rise of platforms like Oyssey is a symptom of a larger problem: the growing inability of Americans to coexist with people who see the world differently. We’ve gone from debating ideas to demonizing those who hold them. And now, apparently, we can’t even live on the same street.

So, what’s the solution? It’s not going to come from a website that promises to sort your neighbors into neat political categories. It’s going to come from a willingness to engage, to have uncomfortable conversations, and to realize that the things that divide us are often smaller than the things we share. It’s going to take courage—not the kind that comes from hitting a filter button, but the kind that comes from knocking on a neighbor’s door and saying, “Hi, I’m new here.”

At the end of the day, we all want the same thing: a safe, welcoming place to call home. But if we can’t figure out how to live side by side with people who think differently, maybe the problem isn’t them—it’s us.