( CNN ) -- It 's not your imagination : Our politics are more polarized than at any point in recent history . That 's the conclusion of a new survey from the indispensable Pew Research Center for the People and the Press . And if you needed more evidence of the passionate and sometimes poisonous polarization afflicting our nation , you did n't have to look further than the crowds in Wisconsin on Tuesday night after the recall attempt . Here 's the real wake-up call : Americans are more divided about partisan politics right now than they are about race , class , gender and age . That 's right : Forget the original sin of slavery and the longstanding fights over civil rights -- those old divisions now seem small compared with perceptions of whether a person is a Republican or Democrat . Welcome to the new bigotry , where a person 's partisan identification is a source of prejudice , seen as a reflection of fundamentally different values , representative of an alien America . Like any form of prejudice , this is learned behavior , exacerbated by the daily drumbeat of partisan media . Conservatives are led to believe that liberals are essentially less patriotic and secretly socialist , while some liberals believe that conservatives are bigoted Bible thumpers . The mutual distrust leads members of different parties to feel unfairly judged by the other side , further fueling polarization -- and so fellow Americans divide into warring camps , us against them . Partisan difference did n't always seem like an unbridgeable divide . But over the past 25 years , the split on basic values between Republicans and Democrats has skyrocketed . For example , on the issue of the environment , at the end of the Reagan era , 86 % of Republicans and 93 % of Democrats believed that `` there needs to be stricter laws and regulations to protect the environment . '' That broad consensus has fallen apart -- now , 47 % of Republicans support that statement , while Democrats ' sentiment remains the same . Likewise , take a look at attitudes regarding the social safety net -- a quarter century ago 62 % of Republicans and 79 % of Democrats believed that government should `` take care of people that could not take care of themselves . '' Today , 40 % of Republicans believe in that aspect of the social contract , while 75 % of Democrats still do . What happened to compassionate conservatism ? These policy divides reflect increased ideological and demographic differences between the two parties . Over two-thirds of Republicans self-identify as conservative and 87 % are non-Hispanic white , with an average age of 50 . Democrats are evenly split between liberals and centrists , more racially diverse than ever before and less likely to be religious or have `` old-fashioned values about family and marriage . '' There is however a hopeful sign beneath the hyper-partisanship -- a healthy rebellion against this division and consequent dysfunction in Washington . According to the Pew survey , a record number of Americans are declaring their independence and proactively rejecting both the Republican and Democratic parties . In fact , there are more independents than Democrats or Republicans . It is a direct reaction against the unprecedented polarization of the two parties . And this ai n't no mushy middle . As in surveys past , we can see that independent voters tend to be closer on economic issues to Republicans and closer to Democrats on social issues . Most importantly , while the two parties are deeply polarized , independent voters ' attitudes on issues most closely parallel the American people as a whole . At heart , most Americans are nonideological problem-solvers , and that 's a quality we see less and less of in our politicians . Why does this growing polarization matter ? First , because it is resulting in an inability of the two parties to reason together on pressing issues such as improving the economy or dealing with the deficit and the debt . But more broadly , it risks undermining a core bit of American wisdom expressed in our national motto -- e pluribus unum : out of many , one . Democracy requires competing political parties , but they are not supposed to take the place of tribal affiliations . That they are is evidence of group-think that pushes the idea that people who think differently about politics or policy are not merely mistaken but a clear and present danger to the Constitution . That 's the way political opponents become enemies -- even ( and especially ) if we do n't know them personally . Changing the culture of hyper-partisanship will take time . It requires pushing back at the constant drumbeat of partisan media that polarizes in the pursuit of profit . It requires showing that there is a strong alternative , a better way to conduct civic debates . But this effort is essential to restoring common sense and collegiality to our politics . We can take comfort from the wise words of the original founding father , George Washington , who devoted a considerable portion of his farewell address to warning against the dangers and distortions of hyper-partisanship : `` One of the expedients of party to acquire influence within particular districts is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts , '' he wrote . `` You can not shield yourselves too much against the jealousies and heartburnings which spring from these misrepresentations ; they tend to render alien to each other those who ought to be bound together by fraternal affection . '' The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of John Avlon .
John Avlon : Pew study confirms politics divides Americans more than race , class , age , gender . He says it 's bigotry , a learned behavior profoundly alienating Americans from each other . He says GOP support of social safety net , environment way down , Democrats about same . Comment: Split undermines core belief of e pluribus unum .