Political Polarization Essay

881 Words2 Pages

“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” Commentators have lamented for years now regarding the polarized states of America. Pundits inform us that Not since the days of Reconstruction has the country experienced the amount of vitriol, misunderstanding, and resentment from political differences. While numerous people have witnessed and discussed this saddening occurrence, few have delved into how this phenomenon arose and what stakes it holds for our future. Instead, political minded people have droned on about more policy, for for too many, legislative victory is all that matters (unfortunately). How did our country reach this present state? The trend of political polarization has many roots, but one particular cause over the last decade involves geography. Old stories of the past reflect on politically diverse communities shopping at the same stores, singing in the same churches, sitting tighter at the same ball games. Communities featured different people from different walks of life, yet people lived together and comprehend the …show more content…

No matter the stance, individuals from one party or ideology will almost always take opposing sides just to fight and oppose the “enemy group.” The result: people betray their own positions in order to follow a party. The recent tax legislation to pass Congress highlights the idea exceptionally. While Republicans claimed to serve the interests of fiscally conservatism during the Obama era, they passed legislation that top economists claim will increase the national debt over the coming years. On the other hand, Democrats, who downplayed the issue during the past administration, have started the emphasize the problem. In the end, people stand with their party or group, rather than their own values or ideals (or even worse, their ideal is a party:(. The behavior creates an atmosphere of perpetual conflict, making reconciliation between Americans

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