Conversations for Change Lecture: ‘A Nation Divided? We’re More Alike Than We Think’
James Coan of More Like US spoke on political polarization in Mara Auditorium on Thursday, the latest event in the Conversations for Change initiative. (Vincent DiFonzo/The Gettysburgian)
By Vincent DiFonzo, Editor-in-Chief
On Thursday evening, Conversations for Change welcomed James Coan for a lecture focused on political polarization. Coan co-founded More Like Us, an organization aimed at “[spreading] the message that Americans are more similar across the political spectrum than we think.”
The lecture is the latest event in the C4C series, the new College initiative aimed at creating constructive dialogue across community members that disagree not only in politically-charged conversation, but in any disagreement or conflict that may arise. Coan’s lecture involved the audience throughout, giving attendees a plethora of opportunities to drive the conversation.
Vice President for College Life Anne Ehrlich opened the event, introducing Coan’s background and organization.
“[Coan] will talk with us tonight about evidence that proves most of us are actually more alike than the polarization narrative suggests. On issues like democracy, human rights, political risk, abortion, gun control and more, there is plenty of overlap in public opinion to start a conversation from where we agree instead of where we don’t,” said Ehrlich.
Coan then began speaking, first mentioning that he previously visited Gettysburg College for the Braver Angels Conference in 2023. He also thanked President Bob Iuliano, who was present, for his attendance at the lecture.
Next, Coan prompted a question to the audience: “how divided does it feel we are as a country?” Coan asked the audience for input while C4C student coordinator Olivia Taylor ’25 passed a microphone to audience members who wanted to answer the question.
One student commented that they believe people are less divided than it may seem, stating, “I think that people are, you know, there’s some like basic, fundamental values that are different, but generally, we all live under the same moral code, and I think that most of the division is just superficial.”
Coan then discussed why he decided to co-found More Like Us. Previously, Coan worked as an energy consultant. During the 2016 election cycle, Coan found himself concerned about political polarization in the country, which prompted him to begin work to reduce political divides. This culminated in the organization’s founding and in Coan transitioning to the work full time.
Coan then shared a short video with the audience that sought to show, through data, that Americans are less polarized than many believe. He introduced the idea of a “perception gap,” in which Americans perceive there is more political division than there actually is and that many hold exaggerated beliefs about the views of political adversaries.
Next, the audience was asked what topics contain common misperceptions or misunderstandings that lead to division. Answers included the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, abortion and environmental issues.
Coan also shared data to support his argument that Americans are less divided than many believe. Following this, Coan discussed misinformation, how it can drive people apart and why we are prone to believing misinformation.
Next, Coan talked about “incentives” — the motives of actors that can influence politics such as the news and social media. He said the news media is driven by viewership and social media in order to “[get] people engaged [in] sharing, commenting, and so it’s a great business model.” He also shared data to support that the most partisan members of Congress receive the most media attention.
“A small share of the population is responsible for a large share of tweets, and they tend to be more extreme and certain than average electoral systems,” said Coan.
Coan then explained the goal of More Like Us in its programming, saying. “What are we trying to achieve here? My argument would be that we’re trying to achieve trust.” He further said, “In a society, even if we disagree, if we trust each other, we try to work together, there isn’t a desire to destroy the other side.”
Coan then addressed how more trust can be built in society, arguing that much of the burden is on institutions that have the power to influence American politics, such as governmental organizations and the media.
Next, he acknowledged that making progress on such a nation-wide issue would require change on a large scale. As an example, he calculated that if 1000 people were trained to speak on political polarization by his organization and each of those 1000 people spoke in front of 20 different people everyday, it would take over 400 years to reach every voter once.
“That doesn’t make any sense. So to me, there has to be some way to have equal conversations on their own,” said Coan.
He also said that sharing stories with others is an effective way to bridge divides with others. He also encouraged the audience to avoid spreading negative stereotypes about political adversaries.
“If people spread these kinds of stereotypes, these negative perceptions of each other, those become embedded,” he said.
Next, Coan challenged the audience, asking what they can do to decrease polarization. One student encouraged others to attend the upcoming student policy debate, which will be held on Oct. 23 in Mara Auditorium.
Another student argued that students who feel like their views are in the minority should speak up.
“Whenever you’re an ideological minority, I think speaking up, even whenever you feel like you shouldn’t necessarily because you’re surrounded by, you know, other people. I think that speaking up is an important thing to do,” the student said.
Coan also highlighted initiatives from More Like Us, including Similarity Hub and the perception gap lesson plan, intended for use at the high school or college level. Similarity Hub is an aggregation of data intended to demonstrate that in many ways, Americans agree much on much more than what is thought.
The next C4C speaker event is scheduled for Nov. 15 and is entitled “Navigating the Culture of Division: Difficult Dialogues Teaching and Learning as Pathways toward Understanding and Leadership.”
