HOW Did The U.S. Get So Polarized?

[HollyS]

Ksinger- I don't disagree with anything you've said about the GOP, but a dead pig in a Romney shirt with barbed wire wrapped around its head was left on the doorstep on a Romney campaign office in southern CA this morning. The Dems ran ads of their candidates shooting Rebublican zombies in the head. Jay-Z substituted the name Romney for the word 'bitches' in his song onstage with President Obama standing right there with him. Mr. Romney was also threatened by assasination attempts, just like President Obama.

The Democratic Party doesn't have to have this conversation in the national spolight right now because they won this election; good for them. Doesn't mean they have nothing to work on.

The nastiness, the polarization is widespread across all parties, among all demographics. If we, as individual people, want to work on fixing some of this polarization we can't assume that party affiliation, or lack thereof, lets people off the hook for bad behavior and poor choices. If we want to reject the kind of language and tactics you cited then they must be rejected across the board. All parties, candidates, and citizens should post-mortem a campaign in light of the prinicples and morality they wish to uphold and see where they could have done better.

Well said. No one gets a free pass just because they "think like you". There was a complete lack of civility - - Eva Longoria, anyone? - - by quite a few Dems. And that isn't to say that the other parties can act like they were above the fray; there is evidence to the contrary.

I don't like the guy and never have. I think he's an empty suit worn by an ego. But, being ugly about him won't make him not President, will it? There isn't a point in being disrespectful in the vein of Jay-Z or others. And using one's celebrity as a platform for said behavior is beyond classless. (I have to say, though, if these are his friends, what does that say about him? Civility could start with the President himself. )

 

[VRBeauty]

Well said. No one gets a free pass just because they "think like you". There was a complete lack of civility - - Eva Longoria, anyone? - - by quite a few Dems. And that isn't to say that the other parties can act like they were above the fray; there is evidence to the contrary.

Yanno - I have no idea what Eva Longoria or Jay-Z said or did. I don't assume either of these entertainers speak for the majority of dems any more than I assume that Ted Nugent of Donald Trump speak for the majority of republicans. I do assume that Ann Coulter speaks for someone because apparently millions agree enough with her political views to buy her politically-oriented books and attend her political appearances.

Maybe the degree of polarization would go down a bit if we quit assuming that any any celebrity who's using politics to get the spotlight actually represents the views of our fellow citizens.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Bigotry against race and sexual orientation are different- they aren't choices. Bigotry against religion can be avoided with tolerance because a persons spiritual path should not infringe upon our rights. But if you are voting to mandate that my every choice shall bend to the way *you choose to live your life, I'm not going to apologize for disagreeing. And if millions of people are attempting to do that, I have no problem standing against them all with my paintbrush. You want to affiliate with a mindset, you reap the consequences of that. I'm secure enough in what I believe that I don't really care what anyone thinks or says about me. I embrace it, I don't hear insults, it sounds like compliments to me!

 

[Imdanny]

The US Census bureau, which I'm pretty sure doesn't have an ax to grind, has said that by 2032, whites will no longer be the majority in the U.S.

This does not mean they will be a minority, it means that there will be more citizens who categorize themselves as non-white.

I don't see a problem with that.

I used to be a Republican, back in the day, but the shenanigans like the offensive billboards have lost me.

I think my county is 20% white in HI. I'm from the South. I think the racists' and xenophobes' heads would explode! I don't think they would deal with it.

Politics is frustration. I'm a Democrat and I don't think either party is listening to the people. It seems like they hear what they want to hear and do what they want to do. Very disappointing.

 

[AmeliaG]

I don't like the guy and never have. I think he's an empty suit worn by an ego.

Isn't that true of all of them these days. I heard the same complaint raised about GW Bush. One political worker I know said during the last election that a candidate has to have such an enormous ego to run and be successful as President that most people in private would call them pr*cks. It doesn't matter what party they run under.

She said they also have to have a compelling media presence. These are the demands that we the American people have put on the job but they are mostly tangential to the job. With these demands, it's no wonder that we elect some egos in empty suits (not that I think Obama is one but I see your point).

 

[nkarma]

I like what the Father from Fordham college said about our "darker side."

If you look at human history, I think this is a natural progression. Maybe one way we humans can survive is if we have enemies. It's not politically correct to openly bash a lot of groups, but it is okay to bash political groups now. We need an "other" out there....someone who is different from us and represents all that is despicable. Psychologists probably do a better job at explaining this, but you can almost see how Hitler with a larger majority could say euthanize the other side, they are responsible for all your woes in a climate such as ours.

I have tried possibly not hard enough to understand the viewpoint of the party that is opposite of mine and though I have gotten closer, I still cannot fully understand it. But I am working very hard to respect it. Because of this thread, I will more openly condemn haters amongst my friends and I hope we have all learned something from this discussion.

I was so excited and naive about the election being over because from my perspective it has gotten even worse. I have heard attacks of being lazy because of my age and who I voted for this morning by a politician which really upset me. Then a few hours later I heard a pundit say disparging things about my gender because of who I voted for. With all of the accusations of "they" are to blame for this, it's hard to not feel like we are all being boxed in two opposing sides. It also helps me empathize with groups (even majority ones that I very much disagree with) that are labeled negatively for their viewpoints.

 

[iheartscience]

Bigotry against race and sexual orientation are different- they aren't choices. Bigotry against religion can be avoided with tolerance because a persons spiritual path should not infringe upon our rights. But if you are voting to mandate that my every choice shall bend to the way *you choose to live your life, I'm not going to apologize for disagreeing. And if millions of people are attempting to do that, I have no problem standing against them all with my paintbrush. You want to affiliate with a mindset, you reap the consequences of that. I'm secure enough in what I believe that I don't really care what anyone thinks or says about me. I embrace it, I don't hear insults, it sounds like compliments to me!

Well said! Ditto all of this!

 

[blackberry16]

I blame the media. Throughout these last few election cycles, they have picked out the fruits and weirdos of each party and held them up for ridicule.

To the point that we paint Democrats or Republicans or Independents with broad brushes of disdain.

We've somehow gotten to the point that many have become "bigots" based on political party!

Isn't this a bit ridiculous? I think we've been manipulated for media ratings, and now it's seeped into our collective subconscious, and I think it's making us unhappy. And it kinda makes me mad.

I don't like letting my party affiliation slip, and seeing the listener's eyes glaze over. I can see a whole host of untruths and stereotypes about me cross their faces and color our potential friendship. Worse yet, I do the same thing to them.

How can we stop it?!!

(not related to any PS topic or post, this just occurred to me this morning)

I was talking about this very issue with a friend of mine today. I'm worried by the amount of power we have given the media. It's not about reporting "just the facts" anymore. Each outlet spins the news to benefit the direction to which they lean.

 

[blackberry16]

And the media has a significant liberal bias. I have to say that my conservative facebook friends never posted anything harsher than " I like Romney" while my liberal friends posted, and are still posting, some very offensive stuff.

I experienced the same. It was a huge turn off.

 

[iLander]

The US Census bureau, which I'm pretty sure doesn't have an ax to grind, has said that by 2032, whites will no longer be the majority in the U.S.

This does not mean they will be a minority, it means that there will be more citizens who categorize themselves as non-white.

I don't see a problem with that.

I used to be a Republican, back in the day, but the shenanigans like the offensive billboards have lost me.

I think my county is 20% white in HI. I'm from the South. I think the racists' and xenophobes' heads would explode! I don't think they would deal with it.

Politics is frustration. I'm a Democrat and I don't think either party is listening to the people. It seems like they hear what they want to hear and do what they want to do. Very disappointing.

I agree with this, Danny. I feel like we all keep talking and no one is listening.

They are confusing our powerlessness with apathy. . . .

 

[Dancing Fire]

And the media has a significant liberal bias. I have to say that my conservative facebook friends never posted anything harsher than " I like Romney" while my liberal friends posted, and are still posting, some very offensive stuff.

nothing new,been the same for the past 30 yrs.

 

[iLander]

I'm heartened when I read many of these posts, they're very intelligent and thoughtful.

I think many of us are beginning to realize how we are being used and exploited to create ratings for the media.

It's a simple concept; would a crowd gather if two people were simply having an intelligent discussion? No. What if there was a third person, yelling "Fight! Fight! They're going to fight"? Of course the crowd would gather. That is the effect the media is having on us all. By pointing out our differences, our extreme party members, our wild factions, they create controversy which makes them ratings/money.

Not every Republican is a tea bag party member, and not every Democrat is on welfare.

These are ridiculous ideas, and I'm tired of it. We are complex, intelligent people, we are not caricatures or stick figures. When I was young, we didn't talk about politics, it was no one's business, and frankly, it was not that big of a deal. Now, with a 24/7 news cycle to fill up, they're scraping the bottom of (both) political barrels to come up with news to fill the space. I refuse to hate my neighbor/friend/co-worker because the networks need to sell more ads.

I refuse to be a political bigot (defined as; a person who is obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially : one who regards or treats the members of a group with hatred and intolerance).

 

[justginger]

You know, I have no idea how it happened, but I don't ever remember it being this bad when I was growing up in the States. I am thankful it hasn't progressed in the same way in Australia...yet. The news here seems to have very little spin of any kind. Factual, to the point, with no news channel having a reputation of leaning one way or the other.

"The prime minister is in Japan for a resources summit. The leader of the opposition said her outfit looked silly. There have been no increases in unemployment payments for over 20 years, so we're thinking about doing something about that. Or maybe not. Here's a camera view from the CBD so you can see the cloud cover for the day. Have a good night." That's the Australian news.

 

[Dancing Fire]

You know, I have no idea how it happened, but I don't ever remember it being this bad when I was growing up in the States. I am thankful it hasn't progressed in the same way in Australia...yet. The news here seems to have very little spin of any kind. Factual, to the point, with no news channel having a reputation of leaning one way or the other.

and that's the way it should be.MSNBC...