A Conflictual Political Culture

Democratic versus Republican. North versus south. Rich versus poor. Red versus blue..."To all Republicans, and Democrats, and independence across this nation, I say it is time for us to come together as one, united people." 

These words, spoken by Donald Trump from his victory speech, were not my main concern. As Julia Hynek said in her response, Trump expresses the division that is present in our nation, but what really stood out to myself, were the blurbs of percentages and numbers that were flashing at the bottom of the screen. 

When referring to our nation as conflictual, we like to refer to this map. However, each state does not portray one color of simply red or blue; it is within each state that lies the real division, the real conflict. The number read below President Trump in his speech consisted of states such at North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, the list goes on. 50.5% of North Carolina votes went to Trump while 46.7% voted for Hilary. 48.9% of Pennsylvania voted for Trump while 47.6% voted for Hilary. 52.1% of Ohio votes went to Trump while 43.5% of votes were for Hillary. Should I keep going?

                 This exemplifies why we should be referring to maps that look more like this.                           

In another video, "The bad map we see every presidential election", describes how the first map is "unhelpful" and "misleading". Not only because each state has a little red and a little blue, but because the makers of the first map focused on "geographic accuracy over electoral importance." For instance, Montana receives 3 electoral votes, while Massachusetts receives 12. Thus, is why some maps for American conflictual culture are presented as this:  

However, any way you look at it, it is clear to see that our country is very politically diverse.

On the contrary, David Brooks decides to take a different route in his essay, by focusing less on political spectrums of the red and blue states, but more on their everyday customs and lives. Nevertheless his words still express how America is diverse. 

Although his words can be baist, for he lives in a blue state, some of his arguments and comparisons are very true. He starts his essay with a structural view of how the cities in red and blue states are set up. His stance prevails that blue states contain restaurants, small, expensive stores, and places of a more modern aspect. On the other hand, red states appear to have churches and massive walmarts. He also explains how blue states are wealthier and more educated than red states. Overall, Brooks presents the citizens from the red states as lazy, poor, uneducated, and conservative people. Regardless, his essay still promotes the idea of our American culture being conflictual. He easily can compare two different sets of religions, traditions, social classes, culture and much more. 

Let's take a look at the other side of the argument for a minute; a consensual American culture.   

To start, it was hard for me to even find a picture on the internet that represents our nation as one. A consensual political culture would mean that every citizen would obtain the same political views. This is nearly impossible and goes against the morals of our country. Is America not a free country where men and women have the right to freedom of beliefs and religion? To mold America into a consensual political culture, would simply be unconstitutional.  

Therefore, our American culture is conflictual and very diverse, which is not a bad thing. It represents our country and the freedom it holds. The differences in this large community is what make us this large community. Instead of trying to change it, let's embrace it. 

Discussion Questions:

1.) Do you agree with my stance on this issue? Why or why not?

2.) Were the statistics shown in President Trump's speech surprise you? Why or why not?

3.) Is the process of changing our ideology to consensual culture unconstitutional? Explain.

4.) If there was one thing you could change about the American political culture, what would it be?