Sam never used the corporate discounts available to him through his National Rifle Association membership. It’s not like he doesn’t love a good deal — he just forgot they were available.

A pharmaceutical salesman from suburban Cleveland, Sam says he’s never been much of an activist when it comes to leveraging his purchasing power. “I am pretty pragmatic about my shopping habits,” said the 40-something, who asked that his last name not be published. “While I look for convenience, I will go out of my way to purchase something if I was treated well by a company.”

Until now.

After 17 people were killed in a mass shooting at a Florida high school on Feb. 14, a slew of big-name corporations, including Best Western, Delta Air Lines, MetLife, the Bank of Omaha and the Avis Budget Group, have terminated their promotional programs for NRA members.

Not because the NRA had anything to do with the shootings, but because an organized campaign to boycott the gun organization appeared on Twitter within hours of the shooting. As the hysteria rose and thousands of activists bullied companies allied with the NRA, corporations panicked and canceled their affiliate programs. The left cheered and the rest of the country bristled as politics suddenly invaded the once-innocuous world of corporate discounts — yet another sector of America formerly untouched by activism.

Sam is perplexed that NRA members have become the target of so much hate, given that the very institutions employed to keep people safe in Parkland failed that day. But he is far from angry.

“I’m not furious, not at all. They made a business decision. I get it. They want to step out of their non-political lane and become corporate activists. I can calmly step out of my lane, too. And given every chance I get, I will not use their products,” he said.

Because the bulk of corporate CEOs or PR teams for these companies live in Westchester or Los Angeles or San Francisco, they forget that many of their regular consumers who live Akron, Ohio; Westby, Wis.; or Baldwin, Mich., do not share their point of view. When you’re a national brand, you have to sell your product nationally. You can’t be ignorant of the cultural divide.

And how big is the market share of people who might have been offended by these corporate moves? According to a Pew survey, three in 10 adults say they currently own a gun, and 19 percent of those gun owners are NRA members. Attacking the NRA is akin to attacking 30 percent of the country.

Last fall even the NFL — the strongest brand in America — suffered a ratings hit when players refused to stand for the national anthem. Annoyed that the NFL did nothing to stop politics and division from invading the national pastime, consumers found other ways to spend their Sundays. According to Nielsen, the average football audience was 14.9 million in 2017, compared to 16.5million in 2016.

Now banks, hotels and rental cars are picking a side, and they are all starting to take a hit. A Politico/Morning Consult survey of US adults conducted Feb. 23-25 found that consumers felt more negatively toward businesses after they learned they had cut ties with NRA members. For example, MetLife’s unfavorable rating of 12 percent jumped to 24 percent once respondents were told of the company’s decision.

And on Thursday, Georgia lawmakers penalized the Atlanta-based Delta by dropping a $50 million jet-fuel tax cut in retaliation for their anti-NRA move. Amazingly, just 13 NRA members have bought tickets through Delta’s plan. But the airline will now pay in millions.

One of the few companies that got it right on the issue was FedEx. On Monday, they proved it with a statement saying that while they oppose some of the NRA’s policy positions they refuse to change their discount policies because they value their customers for more than just their politics. (Meanwhile, both Apple and Amazon have remained silent about streaming NRA TV.)

Americans of all political stripes are exhausted by division. They long for unifiers, cultural touchstones that connect them with all types of people, instead of more reasons to see “otherness” in our neighbors, community and longtime friends.

“There is no doubt Americans are craving anything that might bring us together, especially in these divided times,” said Mike Mikus, a Democratic political strategist based in Pennsylvania. “Despite the many disagreements in politics, people really just want to bond with their neighbors and celebrate things that bring us together.”

The sad thing is, our national divisiveness appears to have no end, hurting not just corporate bottom lines but society, too. We are split in two more than ever — and the chasm just keeps growing.