Mind the (Perception) Gap — with Dan Vallone

What do you think the other side thinks? Guest Dan Vallone is the
Director of More in Common U.S.A., an organization that’s been
asking Democrats and Republicans that critical question. Their
work has uncovered countless “perception gaps” in our
understanding of each other. For example, Democrats think that
about 30 percent of Republicans support "reasonable gun control,"
but in reality, it’s about 70 percent. Both Republicans and
Democrats think that about 50 percent of the other side would
feel that physical violence is justified in some situations, but
the actual number for each is only about five percent. “Both
sides are convinced that the majority of their political
opponents are extremists,” says Dan. “And yet, that's just not
true.” Social media encourages the most extreme views to speak
the loudest and rise to the top—and it’s hard to start a
conversation and work together when we’re all arguing with
mirages. But Dan’s insights and the work of More in Common
provide a hopeful guide to unraveling the distortions we’ve come
to accept and correcting our foggy vision.