Introduction

Ever-worsening division is not what Americans want for our country.

Nearly four out every five voters strongly believe we as a country are better united than divided. What’s more, the enthusiasm for this idea comes in near-equal percentages from Republicans, Democrats, and independents.

That’s one of numerous findings from a series of 15 nationwide public opinion polls taken during the most trying moments over the course of the past six years.  The surveys, conducted exclusively for this project by the independent polling firm Survey USA, have now gathered the opinions of 25,000 participants who are representative of voters nationwide.

There is no argument that the nation is trapped in a dilemma of huge proportions. We have a profusion of stubborn problems that fester with no lasting solutions in sight. Why? Because we have no way to resolve them. We can’t agree on the facts, can’t discuss the issues in a constructive manner, and above all can’t join together to move forward on just about any front.

It’s a Catch-22 of massive proportions.  Lawmakers can’t bring themselves to work together because Americans are of such different minds about how to approach the nation’s problems. And yet we won’t solve those problems until we work together.

Many in positions of power seem to prefer it this way. The political parties are two chest-thumping, belly-bumping sumo wrestlers whose only interest in life is upending the other. No holds are barred. Even if there were rules, no individual or institution would have the stature to enforce them. Every outlandish excess is underwritten by deep-pocketed promoters with big stakes in the outcome. The media jostles up against the edge of the ring, goading the adversaries and egging on the crowd. Some enjoy the spectacle, but for the most part we the people look on in revulsion.

The vast majority of us want better than what we are getting.

We are given to believe there is no common ground, that we as a country are entirely at cross-purposes, that there is no basis for accord. But how much of that is really true? Do we have anything approaching common purpose anymore? If so, what exactly is it? And if it does exist, how can we utilize it to the benefit of our battered democracy?

This quest to find common purpose, now more than nine years in the making, began in four small towns around the country – in Nebraska, South Carolina, Massachusetts and Arizona – deliberately chosen because they are quite distinct from each other and because each contribute something different to the fabric of who we are as a nation. More about the towns. The ultimate purpose of the multiple journeys to each was not to further explore the differences but to look for similarities. It’s true that the towns constitute a small sample of a very big country. But if we can’t find agreement among the few, then how we going to find it among the many?

Out of the words of the participants came a set of ideals that rise above and beyond partisan politics to propose even-handed ambitions for the nation.  These 10 Principles to Unite America sound familiar but they were constructed to bridge differences.  They look both to the past and to the future, remind us of what we hold dear as Americans and at the same time challenge us to do better.   In broad strokes, the principles wed our values and our reality in what could be taken as a broad agenda for the country.

These ideals were developed in grass-roots fashion and then endorsed by large majorities of poll respondents across political affiliations.  The principles are not all of what you or I or any one individual might wish.  Rather they propose to rise above political persuasions to declare what we hold in common.

In the years since, Our Common Purpose has covered a lot of territory.  The focus today is an ongoing study of our American values, how they come in conflict, and what we need to do about it.  There is much work to be done.