The Hidden Majority: What Most Americans Already Agree On
Episode 21 of the Building Bridges Series
4-minute read
If you only watch, read or listen to the news–or scroll through your social media feeds–you probably think Americans don’t agree on much of anything. Red versus Blue. Left versus Right. The entire country appears locked in an endless battle where “the other side” is the enemy and compromise is seen as a weakness.
But here’s what all those sources don’t usually tell you: Americans already agree on a wide range of very important things. Solid majorities—often 70%, 80%, even 90%—of Americans across party lines support the same policies. Recent comprehensive polling has identified nearly 150 issues where majorities of both Republicans and Democrats want the same outcomes.
While the media obsesses daily over the 20-30% of issues that divide us, there’s a massive consensus that gets virtually no attention.
The Invisible Common Ground
What do Americans actually agree on? Here’s a sampling:
On healthcare: Ninety-one percent say Congress should act to lower healthcare costs. Roughly two-thirds say the federal government has a responsibility to ensure all Americans have health insurance coverage.
On democracy and governance: Majorities in both parties say elected officials should compromise to get things done rather than rigidly stick to principles. Large majorities say there’s too much money and corporate influence in politics.
On gun policy: Roughly two-thirds of Americans favor background checks for private and gun show sales and raising the legal age to buy guns to 21.
On immigration: While border security dominates headlines, large bipartisan majorities agree on specifics: giving DACA recipients a path to citizenship, requiring employers to verify legal status, and increasing work visas for legal immigration.
On climate change: Majorities (60-70%) say climate change is a serious problem affecting the U.S. and support at least moderate action
[Note: see the Addendum at the end of this article for more examples of issues we already agree on.]
The pattern is clear. On practical, tangible solutions, Americans are largely on common ground. So why are we having so much trouble getting things done?
A Question of Trust
Before we go further, let’s address an important question: can we trust these polls I’m referring to?
In a previous post on The Trust Crisis, I wrote about how Americans have lost faith in our shared institutions—and that includes polling organizations. You might be skeptical of any poll that claims to show “what Americans believe.” But here’s what makes these consensus findings credible: they come from multiple organizations across the political spectrum (Gallup, Pew Research, YouGov, university research programs), they’ve been replicated over multiple years, and the results are publicly available for anyone to examine. (I’ve also provided links to the sources of each of the poll results I used in this article, so you can see for yourself.)
More importantly, in these cases the agreement isn’t close—it’s not 51% versus 49%. We’re talking about 70%, 80%, 90% majorities. That level of consensus is hard to fake or skew. When nine out of ten Americans agree on something, the poll doesn’t need to be perfect to capture that reality.
The real question isn’t whether the polls are trustworthy–it’s why we almost never hear the stories about what they reveal.
Why Consensus Stays Hidden
Think of news media like a fire department—they don’t report on the thousands of houses that aren’t burning down. Conflict generates clicks. Agreement doesn’t.
Social media algorithms amplify this. They’ve learned that outrage keeps people scrolling, so divisive content gets boosted while consensus gets buried. We’re seeing the world through a filter that removes most agreement and magnifies all disagreement.
Politicians face similar incentives. Division becomes a fundraising tool and a way to maintain loyalty. Like any sport that embraces rivalry to whip up the fans, political leaders benefit from making the other side seem more extreme than they actually are.
The result? We think we’re more divided than we actually are, because that’s just about all we see.
From Hidden Consensus to Real Action
Understanding that consensus exists is just the first step. The harder question is: how do we use it?
Make the consensus visible. When people see that millions of others—including those from the “other tribe”—share their views, it gives them permission to speak up. Share the data. Tell stories of how diverse Americans agree on the same solutions.
Demand accountability. Track whether representatives vote for or against bills with 70% public support. At town halls, ask: “Poll after poll shows Americans support this. Will you vote for it?”
The message: “We didn’t elect you to fight culture wars. We elected you to solve problems that we all agree need solving.”
Build local bridges first. Organize events where politically diverse groups discuss consensus issues before touching divisive ones. Research shows that when people engage respectfully—starting with where they agree—trust builds and even contentious topics become more manageable.
The Permission to Agree
Our tribal political culture currently punishes any agreement with “the other side.” When this happens, many people privately hold the same opinions but think they’re alone, so no one speaks up.
Your job as a bridge-builder is to break that silence. When you publicly support a consensus position, you give others permission to do the same.
The Path Forward
Building bridges isn’t just about learning how to disagree better. It’s also about changing what gets amplified.
Right now, the loudest voices emphasize division because division serves their personal interests (not the common good). But those voices don’t represent most Americans. Most of us want healthcare we can afford, a secure border, elections we can trust, and schools that prepare our children for good jobs.
The consensus is there. It’s real. It’s large. It just needs to be louder than the conflict.
So sometimes the question isn’t just whether we can come to agreement–the bigger question is what we’ll do with it when we already do.
Up Next:
“What You Can Do Today: Five Ways to Build Bridges Through Consensus“
ADDENDUM:
More Issues Where Americans Agree
Don’t just take my word for it. Here are additional consensus issues with sources you can check yourself:
Voting and Elections:
- Majorities in both parties support both voter ID requirements AND expanded accessibility measures for people with disabilities
Abortion (specific circumstances):
- Large majorities (70-80%) support legal abortion in cases of risk to the woman’s life, rape, or severe fetal anomaly—even when they disagree on abortion more generally
Immigration Details:
- Notable agreement that the U.S. should strengthen border security AND admit more high-skilled legal immigrants, with pluralities saying legal immigration levels should stay about where they are
Political System:
- Most Americans in both parties agree the country is deeply divided on values and basic facts, and they share a sense that politics is not working well (meta-agreement about dysfunction)
Social Security:
- Very large bipartisan majorities favor addressing Social Security shortfalls through both benefit adjustments for high earners and modest tax increases
Trade:
- Overwhelming bipartisan support for continuing international trade through agreed-upon rules, with labor and environmental standards included
Education:
- More than 80% want schools to focus on preparing students for good jobs and attracting quality teachers. Over 70% want help for students who’ve fallen behind and better access to affordable college.
Protecting children:
- Ninety percent of us—including 87% of Republicans and 88% of Democrats—support laws requiring social media platforms to protect children from online harms.
This isn’t a complete list. It’s a starting point. The full research from organizations like Voice of the People, YouGov, Pew Research, and Gallup identifies nearly 150 issues with bipartisan majority support.
And in case you’ve read this far already:
One specific example of a consensus approach to addressing our shared challenges is these “Common Sense” ideas developed by the folks at No Labels, which was released back in 2024 during the US Presidential campaign. I’m not trying to advocate for any particular policy positions here–just illustrating the idea of starting from where most of us already agree. So far, most politicians (on both sides) don’t seem interested in making these a priority, so we’ve certainly got work to do.
Building Bridges To Common Ground 
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