Politics is everywhere: on screens, in everyday conversations, even folded into speeches at the Grammys. For many Americans, that is not just exhausting, it’s deeply unsettling.
And yet, if there is one thing Americans across the spectrum seem to share, it is this: a deep desire to move beyond polarization, a sense that the country is falling short of its values, and a growing alarm over the division that surrounds politics today.
Those feelings can be isolating. But they are not rare. As we have learned through Civic Pulse, many Americans describe a political climate defined by tension, uncertainty, and instability. So, the question now is not simply what we may or may not still have in common. It is whether disagreement itself has begun to feel like something more dangerous: a source of fear, hostility, and social fracture.
Commonality Beneath Conflict
Americans are not naïve about how divided the country feels right now. Most people recognize that political differences run deep, with 74% of Americans saying that the country is “deeply divided by different fundamental values.” Only 16% believe that “Americans mostly share the same fundamental values.”
That sense of division is not abstract. Nearly seven in ten Americans describe the country today as either completely or mostly divided, with only about one in four seeing the nation as mostly united.
And yet, something else emerges alongside this bleak diagnosis.
Even as Americans acknowledge the depth of political conflict, many still resist the idea that politics has erased everything we share. When asked to think about Americans they disagree with politically, nearly half (49%) say: “We mostly have things in common as Americans, despite our political differences.” Only 29% take the more fatalistic view that political differences have left no common ground at all. In other words, by a wide margin (+20pp), people continue to believe that there is more connecting us than separating us.
This belief in commonality is not confined to one party. A majority of Republicans (57%) say Americans mostly have things in common, as do pluralities of Democrats (44%) and Independents (45%). Still, the gap is worth noticing. The sense of shared ground is less secure among Democrats and Independents—a signal that even if Americans want unity, many are less confident it is still within reach.
And that uncertainty matters, because the consequences of division are not only cultural or rhetorical. Increasingly, Americans describe the political climate not just as frustrating, but as destabilizing and something that shapes how stable and safe the future feels.
Politics as a Source of Fear
In a year that already feels uneven, it is perhaps not surprising that so many Americans are bracing for disruption. And yet, it is still startling to see it in the numbers.
A majority of Americans say they are very (22%) or somewhat (30%) worried that “something unexpected could significantly disrupt their life this year”. When people name what they fear most, many share concerns that are financial (42%): losing a job, rising costs, or other economic risk factors.
The second most prevalent set of worries, however, is political (39% of people). Americans express fears about domestic unrest, government abuse, and even the possibility of civil war or international conflict.
“A civil war or a world war. Domestic conflicts are rising and seem to be ramping up more than regressing.” - 27, Male, Independent, West Des Moines, Iowa
“Political unrest within our country” – 62, Female, Republican, Bucks, PA
“I’m seriously worried that one of my children will join protests and be murdered.” - 46, Female, Independent, Peoria, IL,
“War, unlawfulness from Americans in our country against each other.” - 68, Female, Democrat, Salem, Oregon
What is striking is how quickly these political fears move from the abstract to the personal. For many Americans, politics is no longer something happening “out there,” but something that shapes whether the country feels secure.
In fact, about half of Americans (53%) say they feel threatened or unsafe as a result of current politics in the United States: 39% feel somewhat threatened or unsafe and 14% feel very threatened or unsafe. This rises sharply among Democrats (+37pp) compared to Republicans, though notably over a third of Republicans (34%) share the feeling.
Even more unsettling, Americans (80%) are very concerned that other people may be threatened or unsafe due to current politics. The gap here is telling. Americans demonstrating care for others are far more likely to perceive danger facing their fellow citizens than to describe themselves as directly unsafe. Even those who feel relatively secure are alert to the broader political atmosphere and attentive to what others may be experiencing.
Final Thoughts
What these findings suggest is not that Americans have lost interest in one another, or even that they have fully lost faith in the possibility of shared ground. The deeper problem is that they also sense something more destabilizing: that the systems meant to help us navigate disagreement are instead intensifying it.
The result is a country on alert—less confident that conflict can be resolved peacefully, less trusting that institutions will act responsibly, and more worried about what the political climate is doing to the safety and cohesion of everyday life.
At the same time, these are not the only forces shaping civic life. In many places, community has become an important antidote to the fear and threat that so often defines politics right now and serves a reminder that civic life is not only about conflict, but also about care and shared responsibility. Across the country, people continue to show up for one another in practical, grounded ways: organizing mutual aid and GoFundMes for rent assistance, forming local huddles to help neighbors navigate legal or medical needs, connecting at-risk families with food donations, offering rides to school or work, and stepping in when institutions feel distant or unreliable. These everyday acts do not erase division, but they offer something real alongside it: evidence that many Americans are still invested in each other, and that community can still serve as a source of stability.
These everyday acts do not erase division, but they offer something real alongside it: evidence that many Americans are still invested in each other, and that community can still serve as a source of stability.
With that in mind, as we consider how to restore trust in each other and confidence in the future of the country, we ask:
How do we show up (or continue to show up) for one another in communities where so many feel anxious, threatened, or unsafe?
Under what conditions could civic life feel stable, lawful, and safe again, especially for those who feel most vulnerable?
Can we build a civic life and political culture where disagreement does not create more division?
Understanding how Americans are experiencing division and fear, in this moment, is a step toward figuring out what it would take to move forward together.
Fear travels fast. So can care.
Murmuration is a non-profit that organizes a network of partners and equips them with the insights, tools, and services needed to help communities build and activate the power to transform America into a nation where everyone thrives. murmuration.org.