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— 16% of Democrats, 15% of independents and 9% of Republicans. Even among those who say we must “go outside the law,” just 12% say Americans should take up arms or participate in violence — meaning just 1.7% of likely voters advocate civil war. Meanwhile, 84% of likely voters say we can fix our democracy without destroying the system.

As for the media’s favorite Trumpian conspiracy theory, QAnon, just 5% of likely voters call the theory believable.

So, why precisely are so many Americans worried about the state of democracy? They’re worried that their political opponents will threaten the institutions they cherish. Fortyseven percent of voters declare former President Donald Trump a “major threat to democracy,” and 39% declare President Joe Biden to be the same. But shockingly, the institution they blame most for threatening democracy is the mainstream media, with 59% of likely voters, including 54% of independents, calling the mainstream media a “major threat to democracy.”

Perhaps that’s the biggest takeaway from all this data: that Americans don’t hate each other, but they’re being polarized by a media determined to divide them from one another, whipping up madness where mere concern would suffice. And what’s more, Americans can feel it. All of which means that sanity may reign once again, so long as Americans reconnect with each other rather than believing everything they see on the news.

Ben Shapiro, 38, is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law School, host of “The Ben Shapiro Show,” and co-founder of Daily Wire+. He is a three-time New York Times bestselling author; his latest book is “The Authoritarian Moment: How The Left Weaponized America’s Institutions Against Dissent.” To find out more about Ben Shapiro and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com. COPYRIGHT 2022 CREATORS. COM.