So, What Do We Have in Common Right Now?
Finding Common Ground amid the Noise, Fear, and Division
So, What Do We Have in Common Right Now?
Finding Common Ground amid the Noise, Fear, and Division
The world felt off this past week. Chaotic in a way that comes in waves, like the rising and falling of the tide. My feeds have been overflowing with corruption, violence, economic instability, political turmoil, and heated opinions. This is all while I’m currently off of the Meta apps. From what I’ve heard, those spaces were even worse, with graphic images that somehow bypassed content guidelines, surfacing instantly and leaving people shocked and bewildered.
It is not normal to scroll from gruesome atrocities to lighthearted pop-culture memes within seconds. Our brains were not wired for that kind of emotional whiplash. Historically, these realities would have existed in separate spheres. Yet here we are, flipping between global tragedy and silly videos on the same screen in the same breath.
I’ve had difficult, sometimes heated, conversations this week. Recent news cycles are undeniably shaping not just what we think about but how we interact with one another. Fear and uncertainty are lingering in the air, sticking to everything like a sap that’s saturating communities and social speres in a way that is amplifying any pre-existing messes.
I also need to acknowledge something about my own lens: my circle is mostly an echo chamber. People who, like me, are educated, situated within a certain socioeconomic bracket, and share broadly similar morals and values. That makes it too easy to forget that the fear and concern I feel in passing conversations are felt in far more tangible, more devastating ways in more vulnerable communities and populations. Particularly, by people who do not have the same privileges, resources, or protection that I do. Those are the people whose voices need amplifying, whose concerns deserve to be believed and respected, and whose realities must be centered when we talk about “the state of things.”
Here in the States (perhaps globally too?) perception feels fractured. One person’s truth looks irreconcilably different from another’s. This week particularly, those differences have been glaring.
So, I began to wonder: what do we agree on right now? What (if anything?) cuts through the noise? Are we truly living in completely divergent realities, or is there still some shared human ground?
I put on my handy dandy research hat to dissect this. Below is what I found when I sifted through public opinion research, national surveys, and bipartisan studies. These are issues where Americans, broadly speaking, overlap:
Areas of Broad Agreement:
Gun Safety Measures: Roughly 81% of Americans support prohibiting someone subject to a temporary domestic violence restraining order from having a firearm during that period (Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions, 2023).
Animal Protection: An overwhelming 86% of U.S. adults support a federal law against cruelty to wild animals (Faunalytics, 2025).
Healthcare Costs: About 62% of adults report being “very” or “somewhat worried” about being able to afford healthcare services, and 61% worry about unexpected medical bills (Kaiser Family Foundation [KFF], 2025).
Healthcare Reform: A solid 64% hold a favorable view of creating better access to healthcare, reflecting a widespread desire for healthcare stability here in the U.S. (KFF, 2025).
Higher Education: More than 60% believe the cost of college is too high, and 63% favor making tuition free at public colleges and universities (Data for Progress, 2024; Pew Research Center, 2021).
Corporate Influence in Health Policy: Roughly 69% of Americans believe health insurance companies hold too much sway over public health policy debates (Pew Research Center, 2025).
Government Spending Priorities: Majorities across party lines say the federal government does not spend enough on Medicaid and public health prevention (KFF, 2025).
There is, of course, a long list of things we do not agree on right now. Ranging from women’s bodily autonomy and gender-based issues, racial equity, LGBTQIA+ and trans rights, many areas of gun reform, climate and environmental issues, the role of higher education, and a whole host of other human rights issues and social topics remain flashpoints of contention. These views are fracturing communities and dividing families. They stir up anger, grief, despair, and inflame ego from all viewpoints that culminate in social discourse.
Still, as we Americans consume an endless loop of outrage via 24-hour news cycles, headlines designed for clicks, breaking news banners blurring information into entertainment, it becomes harder to decipher that despite everything that indicates our differences, there are still some threads of consensus amongst the general public.
Most people I know, do not support senseless violence. I suspect there are many others who would agree. Whether on campuses, in places of worship, at sporting events, movie theaters, night clubs, or at music festivals, the basic desire to live life with basic safety cuts across political, social, and economic lines. Despite the constant noise, this fundamental truth often gets lost.
Where Do We Go from Here?
We need change. What we have accepted as the “new normal” (constant exposure to violence, endless political shouting matches, desensitization to gun-based tragedies, a culture of fear and burnout) is not sustainable for any of us. It is not serving the left, the right, the center, or those who abstain altogether.
It may feel like we are hopelessly divided, but that is only part of the picture. Beneath the surface, there is real agreement on some issues that do still matter: such as safety, fairness, affordability, dignity. These are not small things. They are foundations.
Recognizing these shared values does not erase our divisions. It does not solve the urgent crises, eradicate major problems, nor does it create instantaneous peace or societal change. What it does is remind us that even in times of polarization, there are points of connection. Those points are worth holding onto, not as a substitute for the hard work ahead, but as a starting place for imagining something different, and perhaps something better.
References:
Data for Progress. (2024, December 18). Voters have a favorable view of higher education, but think it has become too expensive to attend college. Data for Progress. https://www.dataforprogress.org/blog/2024/12/18/voters-have-a-favorable-view-of-higher-education-but-think-it-has-become-too-expensive-to-attend-college
Faunalytics. (2025, January 7). Public support for animal protection in the United States. Faunalytics. https://faunalytics.org/public-support-for-animal-protection-in-the-united-states
Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions. (2023, May). Americans agree on effective gun policy more than we’re led to believe. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. https://publichealth.jhu.edu/center-for-gun-violence-solutions/research-reports/americans-agree-on-effective-gun-policy-more-than-were-led-to-believe
Kaiser Family Foundation. (2025, February 5). Americans’ challenges with health care costs. KFF. https://www.kff.org/health-costs/americans-challenges-with-health-care-costs
Kaiser Family Foundation. (2025, January 31). KFF Health Tracking Poll: Public weighs health care spending and other priorities for incoming administration. KFF. https://www.kff.org/public-opinion/kff-health-tracking-poll-public-weighs-health-care-spending-and-other-priorities-for-incoming-administration
Pew Research Center. (2021, August 11). Democrats overwhelmingly favor free college tuition, while Republicans are divided by age, education. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/08/11/democrats-overwhelmingly-favor-free-college-tuition-while-republicans-are-divided-by-age-education
Pew Research Center. (2025, July 10). Americans’ views on who influences health policy and which health issues to prioritize. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2025/07/10/americans-views-on-who-influences-health-policy-and-which-health-issues-to-prioritize