The Polarization Myth: America’s Surprising Consensus on Race, Schools, and Sex
By Jonathan Butcher.
Encounter Books, 2025.
Hardcover, 248 pages, $29.99.
Reviewed by Jeffrey Folks.
In The Polarization Myth, Jonathan Butcher points to evidence that America is not as divided as it may seem, particularly on issues of race, education, and gender. Beginning with a poll conducted with some 2,000 Americans of all backgrounds, the author finds surprising agreement on matters such as racial preference, early sex education and transitioning counseling, and men competing in women’s sports. The popular media often portrays a narrow division on these and other social issues, but Butcher amasses convincing evidence to show that most Americans hold views that one might characterize as “common sense” or “traditional,” at least on many of today’s pressing issues. In doing so, the author performs a valuable service: one comes away from The Polarization Myth with assurance that America is not on the verge of a major rift and that political compromise is possible. As a people, we have much that continues to bind us along the lines of what Irving Kristol used to describe as “common sense conservatism.” While radicals and extremists garner a great deal of publicity, the reality is that there still exists a bedrock of traditional values shared by an overwhelming number of Americans.
In a large survey conducted in 2023, Butcher found that generally between sixty and seventy-five percent of respondents were in agreement with wanting virtue and character to be taught in schools, wanting more emphasis on teaching civics, and wanting “school officials to call a student by the name and pronouns that are consistent with the child’s birth certificate.” They also agreed that young children must not be taught that they can change their gender, that materials depicting sexual activity should not be placed in elementary school libraries, and that racial preferences should not be used in college admissions.
Clearly, Americans now believe that schools have departed from their true purpose, which is to teach skills and information that lead to the betterment of the child and of society at large and not to teach ideology. Simply put, Americans “want schools to challenge students academically and emphasize civics and character and virtue.” Butcher presents convincing evidence that schools are failing in this mission and that there are negative consequences such as higher rates of criminal activity and incarceration on the part of those who leave school without employable skills. Butcher traces this social ill to such fundamental matters as that of illiteracy (demonstrating that a majority of those incarcerated are essentially illiterate) and asserting that the refusal to teach phonics, a refusal that began in the 1970s, is largely responsible for widespread illiteracy.
Another explosive issue upon which Butcher finds Americans in general agreement is the matter of transgender education and counseling in schools. The author points to the existence of large numbers of parents who have “been through the war” in dealing with the transgender education of their young children in schools, and he points to the recent Cass Report issued by England’s National Health Service in 2024 as evidence of the harmful effects of transgender interventions on young people. The Cass report concluded that children are often “confused” about their gender but that those who undergo surgical or hormonal treatments often have regrets and that the long-term side effects of transitioning are unknown.
With regard to classroom instruction of elementary and middle school children, there is widespread agreement that teachers should not be engaged in teaching or indoctrination into sexual orientation and gender identity. Likewise, there is strong agreement that sexually explicit materials should not be made available to young learners, although those opposed varied by 58% among Democrats and 82% among Republicans. Surprisingly, given such opposition, the practice of providing LGTBQ+ instruction and making available sexually graphic materials appears to be widespread in American schools, and it appears to have the support of powerful institutional groups. Butcher suggests that parents and lawmakers need to apprise themselves of what is being taught and how it is being taught, and to pressure school boards to make appropriate changes. Butcher also demonstrates that there is widespread opposition to the practice of males participating in women’s sports and to the “right” of biological males to enter women’s restrooms and changing rooms.
One of the valuable aspects of this book is that it clarifies concepts that may still be confusing to many readers and that his survey revealed were so to most respondents. For example, the origins and full intent of DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) are often vague, perhaps intentionally so. With its origins in Marxism and critical race theory, DEI is an approach that intends to exacerbate (and exaggerate) racial divisions and to demand radical “solutions” based on preference and superiority, in effect reversing decades of thinking based on well-intentioned Civil Rights thinking of the 1960s. As Butcher asserts, DEI practices are opposed to “America’s founding ideals such as constitutional law” and “believe civil rights laws are a sham.” Indeed, the application of DEI does not result in equality: it institutionalizes a new system of preferences based on race or other features of biological identity. Once the nature and purpose of DEI is explained, there is overwhelming agreement that it should not be applied anywhere, and this is precisely the direction that Supreme Court cases have taken in the past few years.
Another term used in the context of education that confuses many in the general public is “restorative justice.” “The term is a consequence-free, punishment-free approach to dealing with misbehavior,” writes Butcher, since it involves bringing miscreants and victims together to discuss infractions rather than punishment such as suspension or expulsion. Butcher’s survey found that some 70% of respondents were opposed or neutral when asked whether schools should adopt restorative justice practices. There is considerable evidence to show that these practices are harmful to other students and to teachers, whose classrooms are disrupted and who even face the threat of violence, and that overall they do not reduce the number of suspensions and expulsions. Under pressure by the Obama and Biden administrations, a large number of schools adopted restorative justice practices, but they found that school discipline declined and teachers lost control of their classrooms.
Certainly, Butcher presents compelling evidence that on certain issues, especially those pertaining to the education of young children, there is widespread agreement among Americans. It should be noted, however, that the focus of his research is narrow and that it does not explain the nearly equal division between membership in political parties in America. If, in fact, Americans share a bedrock of common sense values, how is it possible that one half or more regularly vote for Democratic candidates that do not espouse these values?
Another difficulty with Butcher’s analysis is that, on every issue he discusses, the “consensus” he describes is actually a conservative or moderately conservative position, and yet the author does not often highlight this fact. Why not simply say that a solid majority of Americans are conservative when it comes down to education and gender? It is not that there exists some sort of compromise between opposing factions: rather, most ordinary Americans embrace traditional ideas on a wide range of topics, even wider than Butcher studies in his polling. The reality is that most Americans want to see their cities safe, their homes secure, their children protected and not exposed to sexually explicit content or transgender indoctrination, their borders controlled, and their military strong. These are not issues on which there has ever been much actual division, and it is not really necessary to conduct polling to confirm it. Indeed, personal safety, decency, economic well-being, and national security are enduring qualities prized by all human beings. Rather than dissect the percentage of teachers, school board members, parents, or members of the general public that approve various practices and positions, it might be better to reflect on what T. S. Eliot called the “enduring things”: those values and beliefs that derive from the depths of our nature as human beings and from the nature of the world in which we live. This suggestion is not to lessen the importance of what Butcher has accomplished in The Polarization Myth, which goes a long way toward confirming the continuing existence of belief in natural law and “enduring things” among the public. Rather, it suggests that a broader focus might enlarge the significance of what the author has presented.
Butcher himself admits that there are in fact important divisions within American society, but he believes that “Americans are united on some very important questions that are driving debates in statehouses, schoolhouses, and even your house.” In this, as in nearly all that he has documented in The Polarization Myth, he is undoubtedly correct. In his study of an underlying consensus regarding education, race, and gender, Jonathan Butcher has performed a valuable service for those who wish to understand the true nature of the so-called division within American society today. The evidence that Butcher presents is convincing, and his presentation is thoughtful and illuminating. The Polarization Myth is a valuable book that should be of interest to a wide audience of readers. By offering precise polling data on some of the most controversial issues of our time, Butcher’s book brings clarity and order to pressing issues that are too often matters of partisan commentary or vague speculation. His efforts should be applauded for the insights they offer into current American thinking on education, race, and gender.
Jeffrey Folks is the author of many books and articles on American culture, including Heartland of the Imagination (2011).
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