A Divided Nation

American Political Culture: Conflictual or Consensual?

 

America's political culture can definitely be considered conflictual.  Although “Conflictual” is a made up word, it accurately describes the political tension apparent in our nation.  In America, two main political parties, Democrats and Republicans, have mostly conflicting political ideologies that unfortunately divide the nation.  States are being labeled as “Red” or “Blue” based on the majority of their citizens’ beliefs.  This alone shows that America is certainly divided.   While both sides agree that family is important, they have conflicting stances on other issues.  For example, in the Crossfire videos, Rick Perry, the Republican Governor of Texas, and Pat Quinn, the Democratic Governor of Illinois, had disagreements when it came to discussing the minimum wage and health insurance.  Quinn cannot understand why Texas, as well as other Red states, don't want to accept the money from Washington for healthcare. Why would governors not want their hardworking people to have health care?  Perry responds confidently with “The answer’s really straightforward, governor...”; he doesn't want to bankrupt the state.  When the topic of minimum wage was brought up, Perry said that raising the minimum wage would decrease the amount of jobs we had.  While jobs are stable, it would be unwise to put more policies in place and “kill jobs.” However, Quinn strongly agrees with his decision to raise the minimum wage in Illinois because it is unfair for a person that works long hours to be in poverty. He believes it is important that parents can support their families, and raising the minimum wage ensures this to be true. The tension between the two politicians on multiple issues overall symbolizes the political culture in America.  Both sides are headstrong about their ideologies and very critical of each other’s viewpoints.

   

Stereotypes are another factor that aids in the division of the “ironically” United States.  Based on the information written in “One Nation, Slightly Divisible” by David Brooks, liberals live by the coast and are sophisticated and cosmopolitan.  He indicated they are “modern, secular, self-expressive, and discomfited by blatant displays of patriotism.” Republicans live in rural areas, enjoy watching NASCAR, and they are traditional. He indicated that they are “religious, self-disciplined, and patriotic.”  Being a Democrat himself, Brooks tends to speak ill of Republicans multiple times in his article, for example he calls them “racist and homophobic”... and writes that  “they’re often fat and their clothes are too tight...” The word choice used in this article is provocative and offensive.   Based upon what Brianna said, biased articles in general, such as this one, stir the pot and cause people to become defensive and apt to retaliate.  This adds to the conflict and hateful atmosphere in America.  I agree with Madison in that stereotyping divides America instead of mending the increasing large gap; certain political standpoints do not define a person's behavior or appearance.  However, this is more common now  in America than ever before. Stereotyping has become part of our political culture, and it certainly causes controversy and conflict.   

While listening to Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, and Barack Obama's speeches,  I noticed that they all acknowledge the great divide in ideologies in America.  Trump mentions in his 2016 victory speech, “Now it is time for America to bind the wounds of division, we have to come together, to all Republicans, and Democrats, and Independents across the nation.  I say it is time for us to come together as one united people...”  In Clinton’s post election speech, she says “ We have seen that our nation is more deeply divided than we thought, but I still believe in America and I always will.”  In his keynote address at the Democratic National Convention, Obama says, “Now even as we speak, there are those who are trying to divide us, the spinmasters, the negative ad peddlers, who embrace the politics that everything goes.  Well, I say to them tonight, there is not a liberal America, and a conservative America, there is the United States of America…” All three of these political figures advocate for equality and acceptance of each other's political differences.  Our political culture can be considered conflictual because there is constant arguing among political parties.  If we can live by the words in the image above, our country has the opportunity to truly become more “united”.  

 

Questions for further discussion:

1. Do you believe that the divide can be fixed?  If so, how?
2. What steps could President Trump take to bridge the divide between political parties?
3. What steps can citizens take to diffuse the conflict between the varying political parties?