It seems like for the past several years Americans have become more polarized by a great divide deepening between the right and the left, conservative and liberal, red states and blue states. The myth of a dramatic culture war has become pervasive in the popular consciousness. But that's exactly what it is – a myth.

A poll by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center shows that most Americans fall in the middle on many hot issues such as abortion, homosexuality, and other controversial social issues. Though the country is still split on the topic of abortion (51% think it should be available compared to 46% who think it should be illegal), 66% of Americans believe that we need to find a middle ground. This solid majority willing to consider opposing views comes from a varied background – including different religions, political party, race, age, and geographical location.

On other subjects such as gay marriage, stem cell research, and emergency contraception, most of the respondents had mixed opinions – choosing conservatively on some of the issues while leaning in a more progressive direction for others. While the majority opposes allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally, they support civil unions. Americans are divided on whether emergency contraception should be available over-the-counter, but believe overwhelmingly that pharmacists should not be able to refuse to provide birth control. The majority of Americans support stem cell research, but reported hearing nothing or little about the subject – indicating a decline in awareness from previous years.

A lack of awareness was reported in another recent national survey that showed that the majority of U.S. women are unaware of Plan B and only a small percent of those who are informed understand when to use emergency contraception. With Plan B in the news almost every day lately – and not infrequently over the past couple of years either – how can so many women not know about Plan B?

At least it's comforting to see that Americans are willing to discuss difficult subjects and not remain firmly entrenched in their own point of view. Surprised?