I found this research interesting to read. Too often, strident voices dominate the scene but the silent majority are never heard in organizations, communities and in political events.
https://www.moreincommon.com/our-team/ is a diverse list of researchers trying to understand how societies are responding to social issues such as migration. As the strident voices yell and chant, what are the silent majority thinking?
Quotes:
They found that 67% of the country is what the organization calls the "Exhausted Majority," a group that is displeased by America's polarization and would like for people to find a common ground.
"There's a tremendous anxiety about the division and a sense with the majority of people that their voice isn't being heard," Tim Dixon, co-founder of More in Common, told Brian Stelter in the latest Reliable Sources podcast. "That it's these strident, hateful, often uncompromising us versus them voices" that are receiving attention.
The "Exhausted Majority" is not only troubled by the divide in Washington politics, he said, but by the arguments among their family and friends about politics.
"They well up with tears about it," Dixon said.
When asked by Stelter how much blame should be assigned to the media, Dixon said it's a significant factor in the country's tensions. More in Common has asked similar questions in different countries, and even though divisions exist elsewhere, respondents are not able to clearly say who they view as their enemy.
Social media also plays a role in the problem. People tend to follow and be followed by others with the same opinions as them, and they're likely to receive backlash if they say something contrary to the typical beliefs of their side, Dixon said.
One positive finding More in Common had was that people made more sense about their positions when they were given the opportunity to talk "at length about their values and why they believe what they believe," he said.
Anxiety over the country's divide is not the only thing Americans have in common. The study also found that most respondents feel both proud and grateful to be an American.
"And maybe that's the blueprint for a future candidate," Dixon said. "It's to speak to the values that the country shares and to say we're more than just a demographic category. We're more than just a political partisan."
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Originally Posted by razz
