The quest to find common ground
“I don’t read news. It’s too depressing.”
That’s a mantra journalists find troubling. Local newspapers work especially hard to report good news daily (whether or not it’s remembered). Besides, without reading news from objective sources, we can’t be informed voters. With a disconnected public and uninformed ballot choices, we all suffer consequences.
Yet in all honesty, some news is more depressing than it used to be. America’s narrative is increasingly divided.
Blame it on the “me” focus of social media, with its platforms for finger-wagging unfettered by the reality of facing one another. Blame it on the rise of biased “news” — or biased news-hunting — making it too easy to cling to echoes of our own preconceptions.
Whatever the reason, we feel more segregated by opinion. A less united United States. But we needn’t feel so depressed, because there is common ground, even on contentious issues.
So finds an exploratory initiative called “Hidden Common Ground.” Supported by nonpartisan foundations and research partners, the project, launched in 2018, spotlights stories of bipartisan cooperation and conducts polls to assess American opinions against a backdrop of 40 years of opinion research.
Slowly but surely the HCGI is finding that while Americans may disagree loudly on political pathways, many of our underlying goals are really the same.
Common ground culled from surveys in 2020 starts with the divide itself.
More than 9 in 10 Americans agree it’s critical to address the divide. Eighty-three percent of Republicans, 87 percent of Democrats, and 86 percent of independents believe divisiveness and gridlock are a big problem which harm ordinary people. About half of us — 50 percent of Republicans and 48 percent of Democrats — think finding and discussing common ground with one another will help.
We have common ground on how to boost the economy. Most Americans agree we need to upgrade infrastructure, provide tax breaks for jobs-creating businesses, cut college costs and retrain workers.
Upgrading public infrastructure, such as roads and bridges, to create good jobs and make the economy more productive: 83 percent of Republicans in favor, 85 percent of Democrats, and 74 percent of independents.
Decreasing college costs as a means toward better jobs for more Americans: Republicans, 72 percent; Democrats, 85 percent; and 74 percent of independents.
Business incentives to return overseas jobs to the U.S.: Republicans, 86 percent; Democrats, 82 percent; independents, 83 percent.
Business tax breaks for creating good jobs in needy communities: Republicans, 81 percent; Democrats, 69 percent; independents, 56 percent.
We agree police reforms are needed. About three in four people surveyed say racial bias against Black Americans is a serious problem. Slightly fewer say it’s a problem in their community. Asked whether racism is a problem with individuals or society, most respondents said both. While we disagree on the breadth of reform, 87 percent favor (more) required training on de-escalation, 82 percent on racial bias, and 76 percent want race-representational recruitment efforts. Only 7 percent want no change.
Other favored reforms are for transparency. Nine in 10 respondents support body cameras. Eight in 10 supported publicly reporting use-of-force incidents within 72 hours, and nearly as many supported creating a national public database of officers with an excessive force record.
Whatever the specifics, a growing disconnect between those who govern and the public they govern is counterproductive to democracy. Just as harmful is perceiving that the disconnect among Americans themselves is more than it really is. Both prevent the public’s actual agendas from being implemented as envisioned by our system of government. We feel unheard and undermined, and part of that lies at our own feet.
Identifying and focusing on where Americans agree — recognizing that we are not “hopelessly divided” so much as perceptually discordant — can foster productive dialogue and heal our rifts. Understanding that the other side is a well-intentioned human with a different perspective, rather than just uncaring, stupid, or totally at odds with reality is step one.
Just as in any personal relationship, focusing and acting upon common ground is far more effective than setting out to convince one another and reacting with emotion or incivility when it doesn’t happen. Step two, then, is building national dialogue from that common ground.
“Tact … the ability to describe others as they see themselves.” – Abraham Lincoln (attributed)
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Sholeh Patrick is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Email Sholeh@cdapress.com.