In the news
American Polarization is Fueled by Fights with “Imagined Enemies”
December 09, 2022
“Right now, American parents, politicians and educators are having the wrong fights with the wrong people about the wrong things, according to Defusing the History Wars, a new report by More in Common, a nonprofit that researches polarization. The study, based on surveys conducted this year with 2,500 American adults, is equal parts maddening and hopeful.”
Americans Do Disagree on How History Should be Taught – But Less Than They Think
December 7, 2022
Ed Week
“How should schools teach the nation’s history? Americans are less divided than they think they are on the question, according to a new study. The report, from the international research and civic action group More in Common, adds to a growing body of evidence showing that most U.S. adults want teachers to focus on both the triumphs and the dark chapters of American history.”
Do Americans Even Know How To Agree
December 12, 2022
The Bulwark
“Yes, to a point—and More in Common does a tremendous service by highlighting these mutual misunderstandings, which they call the “perception gap.” But it’s also a matter of knowing how to navigate our disagreements, because we still have them. Yes, there is broad agreement about what should be taught, but there is wide divergence on trust in the educational system. Fifty-six percent of Democrats, but only 27 percent of Republicans, say that “Most public schools in America are doing their best to teach American history accurately, without an agenda or bias.”
The Curriculum Wars Are Based on An Illusion
December 7, 2022
Persuasion
“According to a recent survey conducted by More in Common, 83% of Republicans say that “it’s important that every American student learn about slavery, Jim Crow, and segregation.” An even greater number, 93%, agree that “Americans have a responsibility to learn from our past and fix our mistakes.” What’s more, when Democrats are asked to estimate the percentage of Republicans who believe these statements, they guess about 35%—a wild underestimate, which More in Common calls the “perception gap.”
Most Americans Reject Partisan ‘History Wars’ Over Race
December 08, 2022
Washington Examiner
“Democrats underestimated Republicans’ commitment to teaching the history of racial injustices and affirming the experiences of minority groups. Republicans underestimated Democrats’ commitment to teaching about the country’s successes and to teaching history as a story of progress, said Dan Vallone, U.S. director of More in Common, a social and civic research nonprofit that released the report.
“Our research suggests that one of the drivers of distrust is the misperceptions all Americans hold in terms of how they think others want to teach history,” Mr. Vallone, U.S. director of More in Common, told The Washington Times.”
‘History Wars’ in Schools Largely Between Imagined Enemies, Study Finds
December 9, 2022
The National Desk
“With fights over critical race theory and combative school board meetings dominating headlines, newly released results of a year-long research project show we aren't as far apart as we think we are.The study was conducted by More in Common, a group that works to find common ground for people to connect in order to enable problem-solving and progress.”
Breaking Down the Perception Gap
December 8, 2022
Fox 5 D.C.
Americans are divided now more than ever, but it often comes down to not just where we stand politically, but where we believe the other side stands. The group More In Common calls it “the perception gap,” and it’s affecting the way we perceive historical events. Dan Vallone joins Jim on "The Final 5" to explain what it means and how we can use its research to teach history better.
On Teaching Race and History, Americans Aren’t as Polarized As National media Narrative Posits
December 12, 2022
Colorado Politics
“According to a recent survey conducted by More in Common, 83% of Republicans say that “it’s important that every American student learn about slavery, Jim Crow, and segregation.” An even greater number, 93%, agree that “Americans have a responsibility to learn from our past and fix our mistakes.” What’s more, when Democrats are asked to estimate the percentage of Republicans who believe these statements, they guess about 35%—a wild underestimate, which More in Common calls the “perception gap.”
Tacoma’s Mayor Agrees With The County Prosecutor About Crime, but It’s Not That Simple
December 10, 2022
The News Tribune Tacoma
“Relying on a newly published report from the nonprofit More in Common — Defusing the History Wars: Finding Common Ground in Teaching America’s National Story — one of the conclusions in Ripley’s column as straightforward as they come: “Right now, American parents, politicians and educators are having the wrong fights with the wrong people about the wrong things.”
Have We Been Wrong About What The Other Side Thinks?
December 9, 2022
In Reality
Episode description: Polarization has reached such a fever pitch in the United States that each side of the political divide sees the other as an existential threat to democracy.
America’s Polarization is An Elite Pursuit
December 10, 2022
The Financial Times
But it is rash to ignore the fact that political obsessives are bending America out of shape. More in Common’s “Defusing the History Wars” offers plenty of ammunition to take them on. Put simply, devoted conservatives see America’s founding fathers as flawless individuals who wrote an unimprovable constitution. They are the 1776-ers. The 1619-ers, on the other hand, see America as a project built on slavery and permanently defined by its racial legacy.
The History Wars are Not What They Seem
December 14, 2022
The Bulwark
Americans are less divided than they think about how schools should teach about our nation’s history. Conflict entrepreneurs are stoking polarization and cherry picking extreme opinions as majority views. More in Common’s Dan Vallone joins guest host Mona Charen today.
Government is the Biggest Problem According to Gallup Poll
December 14, 2022
The Fulcrum
So instead of taking this Gallup poll in isolation, I keep in mind all these activities (that don't get reported enough) as well as other things like More in Common's research on the “perception gap” in our views of each other and know that we have work to do.
We have to move beyond binaries – that is our job as peacebuilders – to introduce nuance and layers into every attempt to reduce things to simplistic dichotomies. We are capable of better than that. We are capable of creating this next iteration of our democratic republic.
CNN Live
December 12, 2022
CNN
Well, there's a fascinating new study by a group called More in Common about defusing the history wars. And what they show is a lot of these divisions are exaggerated. They reflect what they call perception gaps, particularly along partisan lines when it comes to the teaching of American history.
Let me show you just one example. For example, a statement "All students should learn about the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and how it advanced freedom and equality," 92 percent of Democrats agree with that statement. But only 45 percent of Republicans think Democrats support that view.
Time to Call a Truce In The History Wars
January 8, 2023
The Charlotte Observer
What we don’t have is enough faith in our fellow citizens. Again and again, More in Common documented a huge gap between the reality of Americans’ very reasonable beliefs against the perception of widespread extremism.
Book banning is bad policy. Let’s make it bad politics
December 18, 2022
Washington Post
Opponents of censorship heartily agree that parents should have an important say in how schools work and how public libraries serve our children. What we're against is a willful ideological minority imposing its views on everyone else, dictating which ideas should be forbidden in public institutions that instruct the young.