D - IVISIVENESS AND C - OLLABORATION IN A MERICAN P

A third of Republicans and a quarter of Democrats say they do not have a good way to understand the views of the opposing political party. [...] One of the animating impulses behind the Hidden Common Ground Initiative is to explore the possibility that the dominant narrative of a profoundly, even hopelessly, divided America is being overstated to the point of being self-fulfilling and self- defeating. [...] A third of Republicans say they do not really have a good way to understand the views of Democrats, while a quarter of Democrats say the same about the views of Republicans. [...] Forty-four percent of Americans say that journalism and the news media have more to gain than to lose from partisan disagreements and divisiveness -- including 41 percent of Democrats and 50 percent of Republicans. [...] Political leadership is not the only factor that Americans think can help the nation move beyond the unproductive forms of divisiveness they see undermining the nation and affecting them personally in a significant number of cases.