The Two Party System: The Black Lives Matter Movement

Generally speaking, anyone who lives in the United States of America knows that there are two main political parties—the Republicans and the Democrats. Having two main parties has its advantages and, of course, its disadvantages. For example, in By the People James E. Monroe and Rogan Kersh (301) point out having this type of system creates “predictability and stability.” However, they also declare (301) it can “lead to a gridlock.” This is not a new concept either as there has been a divide since the beginning of both parties. The two parties more often than not disagree on various issues, while rarely agreeing on what is best for the country.

The growing ideological gap between the United States’ two major political parties, in other words, rising levels of political polarization, has had a negative impact on American politics as it results in Congressional inefficient, public apathy, and economic inequality.

In the book, Culture War?, by Morris Fiorina, the myth of a polarized America is exposed. Fiorina covers issues such as why Americans believe that America is polarized, that Red and Blue State people aren’t as different as they are made out to be, and that the United States is not polarized along traditional cleavage lines. This book even covers perspectives on abortion, homosexuality, and whether or not electoral cleavages have shifted. A large point of Fiorina’s is his take on the 2004 election. He ends the book with, how did our great nation get to this position of proclaimed polarization, and how do we improve from here?

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, Polarization is defined as the “division into two opposites”. (Merriam-Webster) Political Polarization refers to the perceived division of ideologies espoused between the two major political parties in the United States. The topic of political polarization is one frequently referenced in the media and in political discussions. Does political polarization actually exist or is it a myth? In this paper, this question will be analyzed and examined and a conclusion will be reached.

Polarization in politics is a conflict that both Is Polarization a Myth written by Alan I. Abramowitz as well as Kyle L. Saunders and Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized America written by Morris P. Fiorina talk about. On a political scale it has either a republican side or a democrat side and in the articles they discuss whether or not people are in the middle of the scale, or on one side or the other. Alan and Kyle are trying to prove that people are beginning to choose one side or another and stated in Is Polarization a Myth, “Our evidence indicated that since 1970s, ideological polarization has increased dramatically among the mass public in the United States as well as among political elites”( Abramowitz and Saunders 542). Florina stated in chapter two that each election the votes came in 50:50. After reading the articles I came to a conclusion that I agree with Fiorina’s opinion on polarization.

"Democracy requires citizens to see things from one another 's point of view, but instead we’re more and more enclosed in our own bubbles. Democracy requires a reliance on shared facts; instead we’re being offered parallel but separate universes."- Eli Pariser. Polarization is part of life, from P.C and Mac, Pepsi vs. Coke to Xbox and PS4, humans tend to give an allegiance to the things they care about. In the past decade, the United States has seen a rise of political polarization in many aspects of life, from social networks to the election. Since the 2016 election polarization has been discussed more and more, there has been a spotlight on this current issue. This phenomena

America is currently divided. Politics from the recent elections have left this nation sore and torn apart by the conflicting political opinions of it's citizens. Politics nowadays are extremely polarized, so much so that we are at a 20 year high with the end nowhere near in sight. This has led to people firmly distrusting and even hating each other, seen by the fact that 27% of Democrats and 36% of Republicans believe that the opposing party is a threat to the nation’s well being. Political polarization must be put to the end, and there seems to be one major culprit, political parties.

Recently, Party polarization in the US has been gaining more attention. Some claim that it is a recent phenomenon, but in fact polarization has been ongoing ever since the 18th century. Political polarization is when an individual makes a decision on an issue, policy or candidate solely based on the political party they identify with or with their chosen ideology. In the 1790s, the Jeffersonian Republicans and the Federalists were polarized over tariffs, the national bank and federal versus state and citizen power. Between the 1830s and the 1840s, polarization took form between the Whigs and the democrats. In the 1850s polarization was focused on the issue of slavery, agrarian and currency issues. In the 1930s it was welfare and in the 1960s

I truly agree to the statement of Fareed Zakaria on why political polarization has gone wild in America. He said over the last few decades, the rules of organizing American politics have changed. This is in regards to the changes in congressional rules that made it more difficult to enact large compromise legislation (Zakaria, 2011). This is the type of problem, we as citizens of this country and the nation will compel to face if no changes will occur.

Polarization is increasing. Good or bad, the electorate is dividing more and more down party lines. Voters are struggling against each other in increasingly rigid groups with increasingly rigid ideologies. In Polarized Public Alan Abramowitz catalogs the data showing this trend through time (2013). The trend towards the poles of American politics has continues since his studies and shows no sign of stopping.

Ideological polarization has become a serious problem. There are much fewer liberal republicans and conservative democrats in Congress. Clear evidence of this polarization was the rise of the Tea Party during President Obama’s first term. In 2010, the midterm elections saw dozens of Tea Party candidates win seats. Their anti-Obama and anti-establishment platform appealed to Republicans who, fearing more inaction, worried that the party leadership wouldn’t push their agenda strongly enough with a Democratic White House. Instead of achieving passable legislation, the Tea Party achieved a government shutdown and a weaker, divided GOP. A Republican controlled House was barely able to pass any meaningful legislation because of this division. While party ideology is being forced away from the center, the American public hasn’t experienced any considerate ideological shifts recently. The only dramatic shift in ideology has been an overall increase in social liberalism since 1950. (Gallup) Moderate voters have just begun opting for more extreme candidates in the hope of producing some kind of policy outcome. People are becoming so desperate for any kind of change in whichever ideological direction they believe is right, that they are willing to go to new extremes on election day. The two party system can’t function if each party is ripping themselves apart from within while simultaneously sprinting towards their respective ends of the political spectrum. Party infighting caused by ideological polarization is counterproductive. Political parties that can’t even agree on a realistic platform do not inspire confidence among an already cynical

For many of us who would like the be called political moderates, these are troubling times. Despite the repeated calls for bipartisanship and civility, the reality is that the two parties in Congress are very far apart from each other. Not only is this the case, but it is even getting worse. Far to common are the party wars and voting along party lines even when it is their represented constituents who suffer. The days of bipartisan problem-solving seam to be nothing more than a campaign slogan tossed out by hopeful candidates and a phrase that has lost almost all meaning to a numb American public. Just how did things get to be this way? And what about the supposedly moderate public: how and why do they stand for this? To understand these questions, a good place to start is Disconnect: The Breakdown of Representation in American Politics, by Morris P. Fiorina, a professor of Political Science at Stanford University.

In the book, Culture War by Morris Fiorina, his political stance on Americans not being polarized has not been caused by a growing significance of the political parties today, rather a change in the government over the years. He believes that the two parties, Democrat, and Republican are the most polarized while the public is not. Abramowitz argues that there is no polarized relationship between the American people and the political parties. He believes the polarization is reflected through those who are politically informed and those who are not. While recognizing both of these views, Fiorina and Abramowitz will give us background knowledge on why America is or not polarized and what are the misconceptions that shape that further

Social media has made it easy for people to create conflicts about their opinions on certain topics. With Smith’s argument, America has and will never have a unified political culture and will have many arguments about American’s conflicting ideas. (Smith 555?) This past presidency election consisted of many heated arguments. Not only from the candidates but from people supporting their preferred candidate. It appears people felt validated when their candidate had a higher chance of winning. Their ideas, arguments, and opinions would be “right” if their candidate won. Once the republican candidate won, there has been many feuds in the country. As the newly elected presidents, Trump, tries to pass new laws, there has been backlash. People seem firmly rooted on their beliefs and they do not want to support him at all, despite him being our new president. People tend to not easily back down from what they deem is right. There may continue to be constant arguments and debates, from the left and from the right, but this is what forms our American culture, according to

We live in a world blanketed by the darkness of ignorance. Instead of blindly searching for the black or white answers, we must defeat the enemy by moving toward common ground. Currently in politics, we see the negative effect of polarization as the presidential campaign has become candidate centered rather than issue centered. We see the candidates resort to bully-like tactics where they attack each other personally, rather than focusing on the issues at hand. While it is said that polarity is an integral part of nature, we need our differences to bring us together as a whole, rather than drive us apart. Polarization is inevitable due to the unique design of every individual, but issues are seen as either black or white, when really