Conflictual America

In the United States of America, there are constant disputes between genders, races, and social classes, but also regional, religious, and national conflicts.

Democrats vs. Republicans 

Each and every individual has two sides that make one whole; the interdependent portion and the independent portion. The interdependent side of oneself emphasizes relationships, similarities to others, adjusting to others, and fitting in with one’s social surroundings. In contrast, the independent side of oneself emphasizes self values, being unique, making a contribution, being heard, and influencing others.

One’s intersecting cultural and social environment shapes his individual thoughts, feelings and behaviors which influences the interdependent or independent self. So, a person’s opinions and behaviors are learned by observing one’s family members, teachers, peers and the media. This means that certain genders, races, social classes and religions learn what to think and what socially acceptable for them as an individual as well as in a group. Therefore, inevitably creating a cultural political divide in America.

With significant cultural differences, follows national political conflicts. These national political conflicts are most commonly argued between the two major groups in America include the Red America and the Blue America (Republicans and Democrats). According to One Nation, Slightly Divisible written by David Brooks, “Red America is traditional, religious, self-disciplined, and patriotic. Blue America is modern, secular, self-expressive, and discomforted by blatant displays of patriotism” (Brooks). These complete opposite cultures result in complete opposite political opinions. And because of these differences, each group has a different opinion about what is right and what is wrong. However, I do agree with Madison Cossette. In her blog post, she said that the article written by David Brooks is very stereotypical and that the stereotypes actually divide America more. I completely agree with her post because although both parties believe different things, these stereotypes can anger or annoy people, leaving a deeper divide.
In the Bad Map We See Every Presidential Election video, it proves that the article written by David Brooks is stereotypical. There are several states that are located in the middle of the United States that are Democratic and there are states located on the coast that are Republican. However, the map does not efficiently show how many electoral votes are given to certain states. This means that the larger states may not have as many electoral votes as the smaller states. This may also create division and anger between the two parties because the larger states want more representation than the smaller states.

Although these two parties are described in a very stereotypical manner, there are still a significant amount of differences. As an example, Republicans are against abortion. Republicans argue that, “We assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental individual right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution.” In contrast, Democrats are for abortion. They argue that, “Democrats are committed to protecting and advancing reproductive health, rights, and justice. We believe unequivocally...that every woman should have access to quality reproductive health care services, including safe and legal abortion—regardless of where she lives, how much money she makes, or how she is insured.”
This is only one out of a handful of political issues in the United States. These political disagreements originate from the clash of values and beliefs. Both parties do not want to agree or solve the issues due to the major differences in those values and beliefs. Therefore, the United States is a conflictual government.

Sources:

• How Democrats and Republicans Compare - ww2.kged.org

• Clash of Independence and Interdependence Creates Conflict - gender.stanford.edu 

• Will Red and Blue America Go to War? - nationalinterest.org