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Americans are inundated with social media messages and news stories emphasizing their “divisions” and decrying the country’s deep “polarization.” But a recent survey should help dampen the idea that this nation is hopelessly split along ideological lines.
An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted last month found widespread consensus on the country’s core values. For instance, 84% agreed that freedom of religion is an integral part of this country’s identity. Ninety-one percent said the same about the right to vote, the right to privacy and equal protection under the law.
The one issue that generated a major split between Democrats and Republicans was the Second Amendment. Those who sympathized with the GOP were more likely to believe — 61% to 19% — that the right to bear arms was vital to the nation’s core principles.
“The overall findings are striking,” the AP claimed, “because they come at a time of extreme partisanship when political agreements seem rare and concerns are heightened over the potential for violence during [an] ... election year.”
But that is precisely the type of hyperbole that fosters the narrative this poll erodes. Yes, Americans have varying beliefs and political outlooks. That is the strength of a free society. But the vast majority of people live lives far removed from the chaos generated by the hyper-political climate embraced by activists across the spectrum.
“If you get a bunch of normal people at random and put them in a room together and chat about issues,” Michael Albertus, a political-science professor at the University of Chicago, told the wire service, “there’s a lot more convergence than you might imagine.”
