"Use the marriage-poll test for true polarization One panelist cited a decades-long polling question that asks how people would feel if their child married someone from the opposite political party. Fifty years ago, the answer was essentially indifference — it was as irrelevant as hair color. Today, "half the country says they would be alarmed," which the panelist called a precise, single-data-point summary of how tribal political identity has become. Anyone trying to assess the actual depth of polarization in their country, company, or community can use this same proxy question — not about marriage specifically, but about whether belonging to an opposing group has become a character judgment rather than a difference of opinion. Source: Panel Journalists, Live Ottawa Political Forum, Trump, Canada, and American Politics Panel"