The Tenpenny Files with Jonathan Butcher

The country has been told it is tearing itself apart. Headlines predict civil war. Commentators speak as though neighbors stand on the brink of collapse.

The data tells a different story.

Jonathan Butcher conducted a nationally representative survey of roughly two thousand Americans, including parents and the general public, and asked direct questions on the most volatile issues in public life. Racial preferences in college admissions. Boys competing in girls’ sports. The teaching of gender identity to young children. Civics education in K–12 schools. The results reveal consistent majorities that rarely appear in media narratives, even as institutions continue to frame these issues as irreconcilable divides.

On racial preferences, the survey reflects broad opposition to advancing individuals based on skin color, echoing the Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling against race-based admissions. Testimony before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and longitudinal research show that such preferences often place students in environments for which they are unprepared, with academic and professional consequences that follow them long after graduation.

The public response aligns with that body of evidence, even as elite institutions continue to defend policies the Court has already addressed.

On gender policy, the survey documents majority opposition to teaching concepts of gender identity in early grades and to policies that permit boys in girls’ private spaces or on girls’ sports teams
Yet state policies in places such as California and New Jersey allow educators to withhold information from parents when children express gender confusion. Lawsuits alleging medical malpractice in cases of irreversible procedures for minors are unfolding across the country, reshaping the legal landscape while families navigate decisions that carry permanent consequences.

Civics education presents another fault line. National Assessment scores have remained stagnant for decades. Action civics initiatives have emphasized activism over knowledge. Encampments and campus disruptions reflect a generation trained to mobilize grievance without mastering constitutional structure or historical continuity.

Survey respondents indicate strong support for teaching civics, character, and virtue, revealing a public appetite for instruction grounded in history and constitutional literacy.
The narrative of polarization persists. Media coverage amplifies extremes. Social media algorithms cluster users into reinforcing circles. Meanwhile, survey data from multiple sources, including Gallup, The New York Times, and The Washington Post, point toward shared positions across contentious issues.

The dissonance between public opinion and institutional messaging defines the pressure line explored throughout this conversation.

The divide you’ve been shown is not the whole story. Watch this and decide for yourself.

Meet the Guest
Jonathan Butcher is the Will Skillman Senior Research Fellow in Education Policy at The Heritage Foundation and author of The Polarization Myth: America’s Surprising Consensus on Race. He has testified before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and specializes in education reform, school choice, and cultural policy. His work examines public opinion data alongside legislative developments to expose where institutional messaging diverges from measurable consensus.

Website:

Book: https://www.amazon.com/Polarization-Myth-Americas-Surprising-Consensus/dp/1641774835/ref=sr_1_1