The Conflictual Political Culture of America

There is no doubt that the state of our country causes us to have a mostly conflictual political culture. A definite divide is present in the United States, easily proven by our many overlapping opinions on different subjects. While there a few aspects which could point to the country being consensual, it is overruled by the many conflictual issues we face on an everyday basis. Our beliefs and decisions can never be the exactly the same, and any that have different opinions will clash in one way or another.

Summary of Results of the 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 Presidential Elections

This theory is further proven by the article, One Nation, Slightly Divisible, written by David Brooks for the Atlantic Magazine in 2001. In this work, David Brooks thoroughly goes through the many differences of the people who inhabit the red states versus the people who inhabit the blue states. Through this analysis, Brooks displays the many subtle differences. Whether it be where they prefer to shop or the way they act, there is always something contrasting between them. People from the Blue States prefer to shop at smaller stores and keep their opinions to a minimum, not wanting to offend others. Red States, on the other hand, like to shop at their giant stores such as Walmart and are not afraid to say what they believe. Blue States, also, have a more diverse population, and, as you can guess, the Red States do not. The way a person from a Blue State presents themselves is completely opposite of how a person from a Red State would do so. 

President Trump announcing his Presidential Run in 2016 (and yes, I chose this image on purpose)

Something that caught my attention was the video which displayed Trump's, "greatest quotes", back in 2016 (because these are nothing compared to what he has stated in 2017). Throughout this compilation, Trump talks about the numerous things going wrong with the United States. In all honestly, all he was doing was throwing insults and saying how he would "do better" so there was not too much to take from it in my eyes, except one thing. Trump states, without hesitation, "The American Dream is dead." With all the conflict going on nowadays, he may not be wrong, but that depends who you ask. Some may state President Trump is absolutely right, while others may completely disagree, but in the end, it all depends on the person. Or perhaps, it depends on which type of state you live in. One could say these viewpoints depend on the environment you live in. If you're someone who lives in the city with so much opportunity to do great things, you would automatically disagree with that powerful statement. However, if you lived in a state surrounded by corn fields and less education, you may agree. 

To sum everything up, everyone's opinions, beliefs, and takes on situations are different. Most of the time, no one consents to something forced upon them unless absolutely necessary. These attitudes lead to the conflictual political culture we are faced with today. If this evidence is not enough, then surely the opinions of my fellow classmates suffice as well. As Kailyn Lawlor stated, "In America, there is a constant argument over many controversial topics such as abortion, healthcare, minimum wage, and taxes". There are so many things Blue States and Red States do not agree upon, and there is no way to get any side to consent to the other.