For four years, Diane Hessan has been in weekly conversation with voters across the United States. What she has learned will surprise you, enlighten you, give you hope, and change the way you think about your fellow Americans.
Our inability to hear each other, our suspicion, and our impatience are stressing us out and tearing us apart. It’s a sickness that permeates the American culture, erodes our collective mental health, and makes us hate each other.
To gain insights into how we can move forward, Hessan undertook a massive listening project, conducting an ongoing series of weekly interviews with 500 voters from every state, of every age and ethnicity, and along different points of the political spectrum. The topics ranged from race to guns, from character to party politics, from masks to rallies, from the Supreme Court to the pandemic to immigration and climate change. After more than a million individual communications, two things became clear.
We have more common ground than we realize.
And we are, sadly, failing at understanding each other.
...On issue after issue, our “divided” nation isn’t nearly as polarized as we imagine. An overwhelming majority of voters believe in common sense gun licensing and regulation. They are pro-immigration. They believe that climate change is real and coronavirus is deadly. They care deeply about their families and are willing to work hard to make ends meet. And, they believe that Washington is slow, bureaucratic, and not working in their best interests.
In dozens of columns on these topics, published in the Boston Globe, Hessan has upended common political wisdom. Presented together for the first time as part of this book, they reveal a unique perspective on how Americans actually think, what they value, and how we can move forward.
The path to healing our divided nation is both simple and profound. We must turn down the heat. We must begin to listen, to stop presuming, to try to understand, to treat each other with dignity, and to know that most Americans are not crazy radicals. We truly share common ground. If we can pull together, we can have a much better America.
Testimonials
At a time when too many people engaged in public life are talking past each other, Diane Hessan makes a very strong case for doing less of that and much more listening. The people who talk to Diane and to each other give me hope. They are where the best selves of this nation will come from.
— Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker
Diane Hessan’s tremendous skill of getting people to share, candidly, how they really feel enables her to analyze and write, with balanced perspective, about what is truly happening in people’s hearts and minds. This book is must-read insight into mind of American voters.
— Linda Henry, CEO, The Boston Globe
Hessan uncovers how politicians misinform voters about each other, how the media unwittingly helps them, and how we can take back our national unity. This is a Book of Hope. We have more common ground than we realize, Hessan says, and we can claim it.
— Donna Brazile, veteran political strategist, campaign manager and Fox News contributor.
A simple lesson in human interaction — the importance of listening as a gateway to understanding and the foundation for bridging differences — is the cornerstone for Hessan’s timely and hopeful book. Our Common Ground is a how-to for modern politics from an expert.
— Deval Patrick, Former Governor of Massachusetts
As a member of Congress who was on the House Floor the day the angry political mob attacked the U.S. Capitol, you better believe I have a vested interest in moving our political dialogue to a better and more civil place. Diane Hessan and her book -- if read, discussed, absorbed and acted on -- offer one way to do that.
— Cheri Bustos, U.S. Congresswoman from Illinois
Diane Hessan’s informative, nuanced new book could not come at a more important time. Hessan has tried to reach beyond our divides by understanding what values Americans hold in common. Readers on both sides of the political divide will benefit from reading this book.
— Linda Chavez, Director of Public Liaison, Reagan White House
Diane Hessan assembles a remarkable wealth of evidence about why facts alone won’t heal American divides, but listening to other people’s perception of what’s behind the facts just might bring us together with mutual respect. Her fascinating anecdotes and powerful analysis make for compelling must-reading.
— Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business School Professor and bestselling author of Confidence and Think Outside the Building
Diane Hessan pioneered a new form of research that has come to be seen as an invaluable tool for global corporations. Applying that same approach to politics and people’s values has resulted in a fascinating book that should be read by anyone interested in America’s future.
— Eric Salama, Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, Former CEO of Kantar Group
With plain spoken but brilliant objective analysis of everyday voters, Diane Hessan fills the niche of in-depth insight once filled by: Eric Hoffer, Studs Terkel, Gail Sheehy, and Mike Barnicle.”
— Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, senior associate dean and professor of the practice, Yale School of Management
Diane Hessan is an astute observer of the electorate and its idiosyncrasies. She focuses on our commonalities and our differences to show that if the electorate would concentrate on areas of agreement, we can achieve much more. It’s a must-read for the middle 80 percent of the electorate.
— Andrew H. Tisch, Co-Founder, NoLabels
Diane Hessan has her finger on America’s pulse. Our Common Ground is a revealing and riveting trip through the psyche of America.
— Tom Wheeler, Former Chairman, Federal Communications Commission, and Author, From Gutenberg to Google: The History of Our Future
From her unique vantage point, Diane Hessan paints a picture of a nation deeply divided by politics, but not as polarized as one might fear … Her work is motivated by a deep sense of concern and patriotism, and she … shows us that our common ground crosses the partisan divide, and gives us hope that this country can rediscover its united purpose—if only we will listen.
— Ambassador Alan Solomont, Dean of the Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University
America remains in the throes of the most divisive political crisis in at least 100 years. This book is a phenomenal guidepost for understanding what is really going on in the US, and a prerequisite for moving to a better future.
— Steven Koltai, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution
Early Praise
Featured
At a time when too many people engaged in public life are talking past each other, Diane Hessan makes a very strong case for doing less of that and much more listening. The people who talk to Diane and to each other give me hope. They are where the best selves of this nation will come from.
— Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker
Diane Hessan’s tremendous skill of getting people to share, candidly, how they really feel enables her to analyze and write, with balanced perspective, about what is truly happening in people’s hearts and minds. This book is must-read insight into mind of American voters.
— Linda Henry, CEO, The Boston Globe
Hessan uncovers how politicians misinform voters about each other, how the media unwittingly helps them, and how we can take back our national unity. This is a Book of Hope. We have more common ground than we realize, Hessan says, and we can claim it.
— Donna Brazile, veteran political strategist, campaign manager and Fox News contributor.
A simple lesson in human interaction — the importance of listening as a gateway to understanding and the foundation for bridging differences — is the cornerstone for Hessan’s timely and hopeful book. Our Common Ground is a how-to for modern politics from an expert.
— Deval Patrick, Former Governor of Massachusetts
As a member of Congress who was on the House Floor the day the angry political mob attacked the U.S. Capitol, you better believe I have a vested interest in moving our political dialogue to a better and more civil place. Diane Hessan and her book -- if read, discussed, absorbed and acted on -- offer one way to do that.
— Cheri Bustos, U.S. Congresswoman from Illinois
Diane Hessan’s informative, nuanced new book could not come at a more important time. Hessan has tried to reach beyond our divides by understanding what values Americans hold in common. Readers on both sides of the political divide will benefit from reading this book.
— Linda Chavez, Director of Public Liaison, Reagan White House
Diane Hessan assembles a remarkable wealth of evidence about why facts alone won’t heal American divides, but listening to other people’s perception of what’s behind the facts just might bring us together with mutual respect. Her fascinating anecdotes and powerful analysis make for compelling must-reading.
— Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business School Professor and bestselling author of Confidence and Think Outside the Building
Diane Hessan pioneered a new form of research that has come to be seen as an invaluable tool for global corporations. Applying that same approach to politics and people’s values has resulted in a fascinating book that should be read by anyone interested in America’s future.
— Eric Salama, Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, Former CEO of Kantar Group
With plain spoken but brilliant objective analysis of everyday voters, Diane Hessan fills the niche of in-depth insight once filled by: Eric Hoffer, Studs Terkel, Gail Sheehy, and Mike Barnicle.”
— Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, senior associate dean and professor of the practice, Yale School of Management
Diane Hessan is an astute observer of the electorate and its idiosyncrasies. She focuses on our commonalities and our differences to show that if the electorate would concentrate on areas of agreement, we can achieve much more. It’s a must-read for the middle 80 percent of the electorate.
— Andrew H. Tisch, Co-Founder, NoLabels
Diane Hessan has her finger on America’s pulse. Our Common Ground is a revealing and riveting trip through the psyche of America.
— Tom Wheeler, Former Chairman, Federal Communications Commission, and Author, From Gutenberg to Google: The History of Our Future
From her unique vantage point, Diane Hessan paints a picture of a nation deeply divided by politics, but not as polarized as one might fear … Her work is motivated by a deep sense of concern and patriotism, and she … shows us that our common ground crosses the partisan divide, and gives us hope that this country can rediscover its united purpose—if only we will listen.
— Ambassador Alan Solomont, Dean of the Tisch College of Civic Life at Tufts University
America remains in the throes of the most divisive political crisis in at least 100 years. This book is a phenomenal guidepost for understanding what is really going on in the US, and a prerequisite for moving to a better future.
— Steven Koltai, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution
About the author
Diane Hessan, an award-winning entrepreneur and innovator in the market research field, is a nationally recognized expert on the American voter. A member of the Boston Globe Editorial Board, she has written extensively about the voices of the electorate. She is the founder and chairman of C Space, the first company to leverage social media for consumer insights. She received her BA from Tufts University and her MBA from Harvard Business School.
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