New research reveals shared aspirations and tensions for government, across ideology and geography.
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We are excited to share our latest research, The Values We Share: Views on Government, Fairness, and Equal Protection in the United States
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To redesign this nation to govern for all, we must reflect the hopes, aspirations, and voices of We the People. That is why we partnered with Worthy Strategy Group, who conducted this research using metaphor elicitation—a method that allowed the demographically and ideologically diverse participants to express their deepest beliefs in an unfiltered way.
What we found is striking: the deepest divide in our country isn’t partisan. It’s “them versus us.” Fairness and protection feel reserved for the lucky, the connected, or the loudest. People of all backgrounds and beliefs feel abandoned by a distant, self-serving government or crushed by its overreach. Yet, alongside this almost universal frustration, people share aligned visions and hopes for the future.
This research shows that while Americans differ on how to achieve fairness, they overwhelmingly agree on what government should stand for: accountability, compassion, dignity, and opportunity. These shared values form a powerful foundation. Building on them, we identified responsibilities that people agree government should fulfill, as well as a shared vision of what would be true in a fair democracy and economy.
The findings surface both tensions and opportunities—offering critical insights to inform a way forward for delivering on the promise of equal protection and fundamental fairness for all.
Read: The Values We Share
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Key Insights
A vision for government that delivers. When government operates at its very best, people envision it serving as a protector of justice, unifier, nurturing caretaker, and stabilizing force that ensures equal rules, represents the people, and responds to real community needs.
Broad agreement on seven core responsibilities. Across the entirety of the ideological spectrum, we found that participants agreed on seven fundamental government responsibilities: equal application of rules, representative leadership, transparent decision-making, responsiveness to communities, removal of systemic barriers, dignified public services, and prioritizing good policy over partisanship.
Three lenses of fairness. Though people align around these visions and values, they diverge when it comes to translating these ideals into practice—holding fundamentally different beliefs about what fairness requires and how government should achieve it. People understand fairness through three distinct lenses: opportunity, process, and outcomes. These lenses reveal not only differences across ideologies but emotional tensions within individuals.
Fairness as balance, not sameness—and a responsibility of government and individuals. Participants consistently returned to one insight: fairness means balance, not sameness. This reframes fairness as a dynamic system that needs constant balancing between empathy and accountability; opportunity and effort; and universal rules and contextual justice.
Read more about Fairness and Equal Protection
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