Tag: Bridging Divides

The firestorm over abortion that was recently reignited —first by the leaked draft of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision and now by the current decision overturning Roe. v. Wade—is merely the smoke before the conflagration.

The Senate is getting a second chance to pass a civic education bill that failed to make the grade two years ago. On Wednesday, a bipartisan group reintroduced the Civics Secures Democracy Act, with the hope of sparking a Senate-wide vote to improve American students’ understanding of civics and history.

On subjects such as allowing handgun ownership and conducting background checks for gun sales, majorities of the U.S. public are seeing eye-to-eye.

According to major pollsters, legality of and access to abortions is as divisive an issue as there is in the U.S. But within that broader debate are many areas of agreement.

Over time these distortions warp society’s perception of reality, breaking down our ability to find shared understanding.

Why would a poll showing overwhelming bipartisan unity be reported as a picture of American polarization?

The first important ingredient for unanimity is a villain, and American public opinion has turned overwhelmingly against Vladimir Putin.

Even on this Balkanized political landscape, there is occasional evidence of bipartisan cooperation.

The one thing we all have in common can close our ability to reason and understand each other. But there is something we can do about it.