Ideological Division Essay

The very first U.S. president, George Washington, once declared the danger of political division, warning “they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines.” He continues his claim with an explanation of the negative effects that parties can cause in government. Despite this wise, respected man’s heeding, the U.S. has quite obviously split into two major parties, Republican and Democratic. Americans have allowed their personal opinions and preconceived notions to jeopardize the efficiency of government. It seems that the title of a party overpowers the importance of individual ideas. A 2014 poll further emphasizes contemporary idiocy. According to a National Science Foundation study, only three out of four Americans are aware the Earth revolves around the sun. Despite the conclusive and extensive scientific research regarding the topic, these people are entirely unaware of their insignificance in this universe, solidifying their knucklehead status. Ignoring the facts, their preconceived conclusions run their lives Even in a day and age with unbelievable technology and access to information, humans, especially Americans, have armed themselves with nothing but firearms and

“Ideology is a cluster of ideas about life, society or government, which originates, in most cases, as consciously advocated dogmatically asserted social, political or religious slogans or battle-cries and which through continuous usage and preaching’s gradually become the

In high school, students separate themselves into different groups. There are the cool ones, smart ones, weird ones, stoners, and several other groups that students separate themselves into. Although, all the students are equals, they do not see themselves as such due to their labels. The voting citizens of America do the same. Americans have six major political parties that they separate themselves into. Each party has different beliefs, although some may have similar ideas.

Because culture conflicts sells, journalism in our country has taken to publicizing exaggerated culture differences. Extreme voices have come to dominate American political discourse which has only fed into the concept of a divided country, even making it look like one half of our country hates the other half. The culture divide is based on party differences between republicans and democrats. In reality the cultural differences between democrats and republicans are far less dramatic than I would have guessed. Party affiliation is based on factors like age, Youth are generally more likely to vote liberal and the older generation more likely to vote conservative. Religion, protestants usually vote republican and catholics usually vote democrat. Economic status, historically this has meant wealthy individuals vote republican.The fact that about 2/3rd of voters vote for the party of their parent seems to be the most definite determiner of party affiliation . (Hewson, Jacqueline) Real differences in political opinion is very subtle accross party lines. For example in many ways red and blue states have similar opinions. In blue states 36% of voters identify as democrat while in red states 26% are self proclaimed democrats. In blue states 32% of voters believe government is always wasteful and inefficient while in red states 44% hold this opinion. Solid majorities in both red and blue states support protecting the environment whatever it may

Today, politics vary drastically from what our Founding Fathers precedented in the genesis of the United States. September 19, marks the 208 anniversary of Washington’s Farewell Address, whether bad or for worse, George Washington’s insight is still relevant in today’s political stage of a dominant two political party platform. In George Washington’s Farewell Address, then former president Washington, states the possible weaknesses to unfold as a republic. The ideology of a political party with definite beliefs alters the opinions and pride held for the United States for the domination of one party. History within itself, has had multiple political parties for varying causes, however the split between the Democrats and Republicans, although

The English Civil War in the 1600’s was fought between two parties in the government, the Tories and the Whigs, that either supported the king or disapproved of him. This violent show of political partisanship may have warned the Founding Fathers that political parties had the power to divide governments and lead to tyranny. Aside from the possibility of leading to a violent power struggle, political parties have the potential to draw away politicians’ loyalty from the American population as a whole to the benefit of their political group. Thomas Jefferson wrote that he never wanted to adhere to a group when he was capable of thinking on his own. He called submitting a whole opinion to a party, “the last degradation for a free and moral agent.” (Hatzenbuehler 32) Arduous bipartisanship also leads to a stalemate in Congress. According to a study by the Brookings Institute, in Congress seventy-five percent of salient issues in 2014 were in gridlock. (Binder 2016) Attitudes become increasingly sharp in politics as the political sides compete, each trying to prove the other a radical. If there were no political parties every member would most likely treat their fellow members with civility in the hopes that they would choose to support mutual

In the United States we are divided by the left and right side on the political spectrum; even further divided into political parties such as Republicans, on the right, and Democrats, on the left side. These two political parties show philosophical differences through their viewpoints on major topics such as the economy, separation of church and state, abortion, and gun control.

This extreme belief system has created a separation of people within America. Where most of people become divided and joint political parties according to Marlantes is on the topic of big government, global affairs, taxes, Americans safety nets and many other issues. When people’s values conflict with what is happening around them, they quick try to find the group or political parity that will support or come close to what they believe in. In Liz’s work she tell of how the current split in America is due to the verifying cultures. According to her this unusual split is caused by people’s values and morals. Because Republicans tend to be white Americans that go to church and Democrats tend to be whites that don’t go to church it is easy to lean toward the party that reflects your values and morals. Because the partisan is so deep between the two parties there is no middle ground for those who are usually unbiased or don’t associate with a political parity. They are instead forced to side with one side or the other. These parties have become a culture on their own. It is easy to see how a person who lives in exurban place, with a collage education are usually Republican and a person how lives in a unban city and has a Graduate degree supports Democrats. These factors of place, money, view, morals, and values have slowly created a deep divide with in our society and our political

Humans are known to make mistakes but do these mistakes define who we are? According to Susan Page in, "divided We Now Stand," these mistakes in our political lives we do. In Page's article she tackles the idea that it is the voters who are polarizing politics leading to division. This claim however touching, it is lacking the right evidence that supports his argument making it weak and ineffective. This is due to the heavy reliance on others work, inability to connect to the audience, and lack of her personal ideas and how to fix this problem.

I think that it is agreed by all parties, that our current system of organizing ideas and policies is flawed, in that it brings about division and strife amongst the nations people of America. In this present deplorable state of government, it is expected that the average American shall default to either the Democratic or the Republican side of the political spectrum, essentially eliminating all other parties from viability. Should this be changed, we could unite as one nation, just as the four-fathers intended.

To begin,Trevor Noah's article is suggesting two main reasons that are causing this division in our country. First, politics and politicians usually make people think of themselves as two parties ( Democrats vs Republican) rather than making them come together to build a better country. By doing that, most politicians feel of themselves safer and more powerful. For example, Noah states that "... like Mr. Trump want: Divided people are easier to rule" (2). Second, social media is playing a significant role in making Americas division go viral. Its main goal is to make the little things big, thus get people angry at each other and sow discord among them. It is all because different people have different ideas, beliefs, and views. He also talks

To be united in the United States of America is to be united in spite of being of a different gender, race, religion, or political opinion. Which both Brooks and Martin Luther King Jr. recognize, but do not express in the same way. Brooks’ argument regarding socio-political beliefs in both Red and Blue America creates even more difference between the two. In the article, Brooks describes Red America as dominated by churches and the people in these areas are more concerned about being part of the community. Brooks states, “America is divided between two moral systems. Red America is traditional, religious, self-disciplined, and patriotic. Blue America is modern, secular, self-expressive, and discomfited by blatant displays of patriotism,” (537).

Agreeing with Hastings, I think we all need to learn how to stand together and learn how to work alongside each other. If we do not, the future of our country may be in jeopardy. The next article, The U.S. is not a country divided, discusses how the American society is not polarized. Studies show how people have become more accepting now than they did in the past. This is good because Americans have become more tolerant throughout the years. Even with this change, faults still exist. These problems involve: assuming the views of the political class, thinking the election results reflect what the electorate wants, and not understanding divisions. Again, this goes back to unity and being respectable of people's

America has become a divided country. Ever since the 2016 election, America wasn’t really the “United” States. Debates over the Health Care Bill, the Trump presidency, DACA, and more have deeply divided our country, and while Trump claims that he is going to unite the Democrats and Republicans, a vast majority, 66 percent, of Americans blame Trump for sharpening the divide, including 27 percent of Republicans and 91 percent of Democrats.

An ideology is a collection of ideas, typically containing ideas on what it considers to be the best form of government (democracy, theocracy, etc), & the best economic system (capitalism, socialism, etc). Sometimes the same word is used to identify both an ideology & one of its main ideas, e.g., "socialism" may refer to an economic system, or to an ideology which supports that economic system.