Understanding the American Divide
- Apr 8, 2021
- 4 min read
Since the beginning of America, fellowships of people with common values and beliefs have participated in political parties. Historically, there have been many different political parties, but there have typically been two dominant ones. The current most popular parties are Democrats and Republicans. As politics grew older in America, mudslinging, slander, and divide only proliferated despite the country's well-known motto, “United We Stand”. So why are we so divided?
National Archives at College Park, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
How do the two parties view each other?
If you were to ask a democrat and a republican to say why the two are posed against each other, you would find that they have differing political beliefs or agendas. Empirically classical liberalism and conservatism spread from Europe and inspired the two parties in their early years. Democrats typically identify themselves as liberal and republicans typically identify themselves as conservative.
Both have a different name, but how different are they really? The answer isn’t too surprising, as the two words themselves are antonyms. In the past, liberal values were generally freedom and individual liberty so long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else. Conservatives saw a need for the common good or the public benefit. These values, however, are no longer this way. These values stemmed from the 17th and 18th century so it is no surprise that they have changed.
So bringing us back to the original example of asking a democrat and a republican the golden question, according to a senior political writer for USN, “ it's not just a matter of different opinions on policy”. Instead, it's a personal matter that people constantly obsess over. For example, 80% of the democatic party sees the republican party as being dominated by racists, while 82% of republicans see democrats as socialists who want to take over America. Both slander each other, and because of this, the force multiplier only goes up to the point where political figures namedrop and speak profanity against each other. With key democratic figure Alexandria-Ocasio Cortez (AOC) being a prime example, she was called profanity at the hands of a republican congressman.
Ron Cogswell / Flickr under a CC BY 2.0 license.
This affair escalated, and whether the two intended it or not, the event led to more fighting between the two parties. More democratic members villainized the republican party even more. And more Republicans saw the democratic party as delicate “snowflakes” who aren’t qualified to share their opinion about politics. We can analyze the results and see the original political values of liberalism and conservatism. The liberal-oriented party imposed harm against more people than just the slandering congressmen, and the republican party demonized up to half of the common people they originally agreed to protect.
What are the harms of the political divide?
The political divide poses many problems ranging from civil dispute, social media encounters, hate crime rates, and more. The most evident and counterproductive, however, could be the legislative process being docked. The same legislative process that is needed to pass laws and implement change that both sides desperately yearn for. The same legislative process that could help both party members without the need to tear each other apart.
According to news source The Hill’s opinion writers Joshua, Carla, and Joy Javits, bipartisan compromise or cooperation is “vital to the legislative process”. In the past, these compromises have brought legal services to people of lower financial status, more funding to cancer research, pension reform, and so much more. The only problem is that when voters or supporters see compromise led by their party leaders, they view their party as dying, weakening, or losing power. This fuels the hate and electing of figures that the opposing party sees as ‘radical’.
What Can You Do To Help?
So how can American politicians win? If they compromise, they are viewed as weak, but if they keep to their guns, they’re seen as uncompromising, and useless. How can people win if every road they can take is paved by the disgust of a political party? If we can’t get a good solution to reactionary events, then we have to work proactively.
As youth, it is vital that we work to cultivate the best foundation for our future generations. We can do this in terms of the divide by eliminating the stigma that the republican and democratic parties need to be posed against each other. The petty rivalry only hurts Americans and tarnishes its record as a country. Not being relentless can be critical in revolution, but America is by no means in a political revolution, so the way to help is to spread the idea of unity. We, regardless of where you live in the world, can advocate the idea of unity as mankind instead of dividing for the greater good when comparing ourselves to each other. By working together, we can prevent divides similar to America in other countries too. So, post on social media, have meaningful conversation, and in times of need, step forward not as a republican or a democrat but as a person who cares for our future.
Sources
Joshua, Carla and Joy Javits. “Bipartisan Compromise Is Vital to the Legislative Process.” TheHill, 11 Nov. 2017, thehill.com/opinion/campaign/359731-bipartisan-compromise-is-vital-to-the-legislative-process.
“Democrats, Republicans and the New Politics of Hate.” U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, 21 Oct. 2019, 7:41 am, www.usnews.com/news/elections/articles/2019-10-21/democrats-republicans-and-the-new-politics-of-hate.
Comments