Hidden Common Ground:
Project to foster dialogueReflecting the impact of COVID-Given the unprecedented impact the
coronavirus is having on communities
across the country, Hidden Common
Ground is adjusting to reflect how
Americans are responding to the
pandemic. The project will return
to topics such as immigration and
economic inequality as we draw closer
to the November general election.
Our partners and fundersHidden Common Ground was created
by Public Agenda, a national, nonparti-
san, nonprofit research and public en-
gagement organization. The initiative
with USA TODAY is supported by the
Carnegie Corporation of New York, the
John S. and James L. Knight Founda-
tion, the Charles Koch Foundation,
and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.
In addition, the Kettering Foundation
is a research partner of the initiative.
Additional project partners include
the National Issues Forums Institute,
the America Amplified – Election 2020
public radio initiative and Ipsos.
Your voice mattersUSA TODAY is working to make
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Visit vote.usatoday.com to register to
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Go to talk.usatoday.com to discuss
issues and solutions. You also can
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or facebook.com/usatoday opinion.rale by spreading a simple message:
“We can get through this.”
That’s part of the far-reaching sup-
port for local communities documented
in the poll – efforts that those surveyed
expect to increase in coming weeks.
More than two-thirds say they have
already supported local businesses.
More than a quarter say they have have
donated money, supplies or time to help
people in community. And 1 in 5 say they
may have exposed themselves to the vi-
rus to help others.
In all three cases, the numbers were
even higher when people were asked
about their plans for the next two weeks
or so.
For now, though, Langholz faces the
reality of a reduced income by making
frugal decisions and focusing on pur-
chasing only the essentials.
At the same time, she hopes to pro-
tect her friends and family by limiting
her public interactions. It leads to a
“looming fear,” she said: “Am I doing
enough?”Also surveyed: California Dr. Oroma
Nwanodi – who is glad to have the Na-
tional Guard helping set up emergency
hospitals and distributing food to peo-
ple in quarantine – and Texas business
owner Lauren Langholz, who is trying to
stay positive even as she sees her in-
come dry up.
The poll, conducted March 27-30 on
behalf of Public Agenda and USA TO-
DAY, surveyed U.S. adults as a part of
the Hidden Common Ground initiative,
which aims to examine issues that di-
vide America along with potential solu-
tions. The online poll has a credibility
interval, akin to a margin of error, of
plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
About 9 out of 10 people now support
canceling large-scale events, up from
about 4 in 10 earlier this month. Nearly
half of respondents now support
grounding all domestic flights, when
22% had supported that measure.
“It’s going to get worse, but nobody
knows how much worse it’s going to be,”
said Bernard Grossman, who lives in
New York City.
Most survey respondents thought
the crisis will endure for months, with
66% saying it will last “for a few
months” or “at least six months.” Almost
as many said they were prepared to put
their normal lives on hold for those
lengths of time.
Necessary, but tough to take
While optimistic that experimental
treatments will prove effective in the
fight against the virus, Grossman, who
works in academia, believes restrictions
will not ease before May – possibly
longer if more states don’t implement
more severe restrictions.
Those restrictions are necessary but
heartbreaking for Clinton, who is 71 and
lives in Rochester, New York. Her
grandchildren live across the street and
still visit her, but they maintain a 6-foot
distance.
Clinton misses sitting close together
while watching TV. But she supports
regulations aimed at curbing the virus’
spread: “I think it’s going to get worse. I
think it’s going to get way worse.”
Clinton is among the majority of re-
spondents who believe the govern-
ment’s priority should be saving lives by
stopping the spread of the virus, as op-
posed to sparing the economy.
Only about 1 in 5 said the govern-
ment’s main priority should be saving
the economy.
At the same time, the majority also
believe the global economy and stock
market are at a greater risk than their
community or themselves personally. To
balance those concerns, more than 80%
of those surveyed said they supported
rebooting the economy slowly and care-
fully to avoid endangering lives.
Personal health concerns aren’t par-
ticularly pressing to Than Silverlight,
69, of Lancaster, California – although
he is concerned about a family member
who lives in a bigger city.
Aside from it being harder to find
toilet paper and canned goods in
Silverlight’s rural area, “things haven’t
changed that much,” he said.
Still, the gravity of the situation isn’t
lost on him: “A lot more people are going
to die.”
Silverlight, a Democrat, said he dis-
approves of President Donald Trump’shandling of the crisis but has been im-
pressed by California Gov. Gavin New-
som, a Democrat who was one of the
first governors to implement stay-at-
home measures in the country.
That reflects the most significant
partisan divide found in the poll: the
federal government’s performance in
response to the crisis.
Republicans were more likely to be-
lieve the federal government was doing
everything it could to fight the crisis,
with 74% of Republicans supporting the
Trump administration compared with
33% of Democrats.
But like Silverlight, more people be-
lieve state and local governments were
doing everything they could to address
the crisis.‘We can get through this’As the crisis rages on, the survey
found Americans are rallying around
their communities and plan to do even
more.
Langholz has seen her calligraphy
business take a major hit as weddings
are postponed, but she appreciates local
efforts to “lift small businesses up.”
In the meantime, she’s trying to use
her businesses’ platform to boost mo-Poll
Continued from Page 1AHIDDEN COMMON GROUND CORONAVIRUS
NEWS USA TODAY ❚ FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 2020 ❚ 5A
With growing and necessary isola-
tion, economic uncertainty and looming
deaths that make us feel dread and
anxiety for our loved ones and our-
selves, these are harder times than
many of us have faced in our lives.
I know something about fear and
uncertainty. A bullet to the head one
sunny morning in Arizona almost a
decade ago left me first fighting for my
life and then fighting to build my life
anew. But in experiencing the worst
- and in facing fear, the unknown, pain,
and the deep desire to move forward –
I have learned a lot about resiliency and
what it takes to endure. I want to share
what I’ve learned in my journey in hopes
it may help others find their way for-
ward:
Have faith in first responders, doc-
tors and nurses. From the moment the
medics arrived to lift me off the pave-
ment where I’d been shot, to the time I
still spend with therapists, working on
my speech and use of my right arm and
leg, the dedication, fearlessness and tal-
ent of medical professionals has been a
gift and my guiding light. There were
days when pain and frustration made it
hard to carry on, but their professional-
ism never waned, and I never stopped
following their lead.
Listen to experts and find solu-
tions. Because of the progress my med-
ical team has helped me make, I’ve got-
ten to take on a new role as an advocate
for gun violence prevention. I’ve learned
the value of putting facts over ideology,
of finding creative solutions. I’ve sat
with Republicans and Democrats and
know that when lives are at stake, they
can find ways to move forward, together.
We need our leaders to respect scien-
tists and public health experts and to
act on their best ideas.We will need each otherRely on each other. In my darkest
days, my friends filled my hospital room
with pictures of beautiful vistas and my
favorite places – reminding me of the
world outside I aspired to rejoin. Jimmy
Hatch, a dear friend and retired Navy
SEAL Special Warfare Operator, exem-
plifies for me the healing power of these
connections. After he was grievously in-
jured in combat, I spent time with him atWalter Reed National Military Medical
Center. After I was shot, he came to my
hospital bed. We talked about recovery,
pain and determination. Three years
later, we jumped together out of an air-
plane above my beloved Arizona.
Turn to service. Service can take so
many forms. Check in on elderly neigh-
bors or those needing a little attention
(from a safe distance of
course!). Make a donation
to a food bank or an emer-
gency fund. Send a text to
a friend who is ill, or car-
ing for someone, or sim-
ply struggling to be home
alone. Each gesture, how-
ever small, is a stitch in
the quilt that keeps our
communities connected.
There’s a quote attrib-
uted to Maya Angelou
that I’ve thought about of-
ten. “I can be changed by
what happens to me, but I
refuse to be reduced by it.”
These are hard days. They will get hard-
er. We will lose far too many lives. Some
of us will be physically weak. Some will
fight back from economic insecurity.We can emerge strongerIt is staggering to contemplate. But as
one who has been, metaphorically and
literally, brought to my very knees by ashocking blow, I know the power of in-
sisting on our own strength, our own
potential. And I know the power of
Americans standing together – not just
to endure this, but to emerge from it
stronger.
In the days after almost being killed, I
lay in a hospital room not fully con-
scious, relying on a ventilator to
breathe, as so many are
now. My husband Mark
Kelly tells me that when
he held my hand, my fin-
gers found his wedding
ring, touching it and
twisting it again and
again. My memories are
hazy, but I think I was try-
ing to send Mark a mes-
sage of hope. I think I was
trying to focus not on the
pain and challenge that
were to follow, but on the
connection between us.
Our connections to
each other bring strength,
hope and resilience. It is my hope for my
fellow Americans and all humanity that
we find our strength and our belief that
we can get through this and rebuild, to-
gether.
Gabrielle Giffords is a former con-
gresswoman from Arizona and co-foun-
der of Giffords: Courage to Fight Gun Vi-
olence. She survived an assassination
attempt in 2011 that took six lives.OUR CONNECTIONS TO EACH OTHER BRING STRENGTH, HOPE AND RESILIENCE.
We can endure in times of fear, uncertainty
I know the power of
Americans standing
together – not just to
endure this, but to
emerge from it stronger
Gabrielle Giffords
Special to USA TODAYService can take
so many forms.
Each gesture,
however small, is
a stitch in the
quilt that keeps
our communities
connected.
How long do you think
the coronavirus crisis
will continue?How long are you prepared
to wait before going back
to your normal life?At least
6 monthsA few
monthsAt least
6 monthsA few
months43%37%23%18%20% 40% 60% 80%20% 40% 60% 80%20% 40% 60% 80%SOURCE Ipsos poll conducted March 27-
of 1,002 adults. Credibility interval of
± 3.5 percentage points.
JIM SERGENT/USA TODAYStopping
the virusSaving the
economyWhat should the federal
government’s priority be?21% 72%A person sets up power and oxygen lines Monday in an emergency field hospital
in Central Park to aid the response to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City.
STEPHANIE KEITH/GETTY IMAGES