Americans are not great at discussing polarization and partisanship. It’s true that the political class talks about these subjects all the time, so you might think that we would have developed some skills, but the truth is America’s discussion of its own oft-bemoaned “polarization” often lacks nuance (or worse).

To illustrate, consider the phrases “everything is polarized” or “the country is deeply divided.” Those blanket statements manage to sweep a wealth of variability under the rug. The truth is that divisions range between a canyon, a small ravine, and no division at all. Results from this past summer’s American Family Survey, conducted by YouGov and sponsored by the Deseret News and the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy, vividly illustrate this point.