As many before me have said, America is definitely a conflictual country. Our nation has been divided from early on, such as in the Civil War. Back then, our nation had a very clear divide on whether slavery is constitutional or not. The north and south fought over the topics of personal liberty and equality. While the south said that slaves should not have the same opportunities as white people, the north argued that no matter the colour of our skin, everyone should be treated and given the same chances. The different parts of our country still have very different ideologies on these two topics. For instance, in the middle of America, many are religious and have more close-minded views on the topics of race and sexuality. They still have prejudices against those of colour and many believe that homosexuals should not be able to get married. However, if one was to look at the west coast of California, they will see a place that has such a different set of ideas that will make it seem as though they are in a different country. In this part of our country, almost everyone is accepted without a second look. People there do not see others for the colour of their skin or what they believe in, and instead see a human being just the same as them.

In this video we can further see the divide on equality. People do not truly understand their privileges until faced with someone who has less than them. In our country, we are not all created equal. Based on how we were raised, we are all given a different set amount of opportunities, and many have to work harder just to start at a level playing field.

In the Crossfire Part 1 video, a main issue was minimum wage. While the democrats in the video believed that the minimum wage needs to be increased to meet the standards of living, the republicans saw no need and argued that it would cause fewer people to be able to get by. This clear divide in opinions only furthers the statement that not everyone has the same ideologies and the different parts of our nation are clearly separated.

Some discussion questions:

Do you agree that our countries different ideologies make it seem as though we are multiple countries? Can you think of any other examples?

Do you believe that our country can make it easier for everyone to be on a level playing field and if so, how?