Preview

How Divided Are We

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
871 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How Divided Are We
Culture War

Government and Politics is an ideal that shapes and influences many different aspects of an individual and/or the nation, however, Government and Politics itself can be shaped by another general idea that identifies nations around the globe, which is culture. Culture is no doubt, an important fundamental topic that should be understood and used as an advantage to satisfy many different groups in a country. However, it may also lead to a country’s own downfall or unfortunate event. Thus, for as long Government and Politics existed in US History, an enduring culture war has also co-existed. Culture wars extends its meaning far beyond the economic disputes, foreign policy, and business regulations, but it goes into an individual’s personal belief and public morality.
…show more content…
From this, many may assume that there are divisions within the population. Generally, it would range from the Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals, the orthodox and the progressive. The ideas of all opposing group creates much friction upon beliefs. There is always two set sides in every major argument ( with some exceptions of neutral or other), which unfortunately never solves problems in most cases. In the article “ How Divided Are We?” by James Q. Wilson he raises a topic question “is wrong with having well-defined parties arguing vigorously about the issues matter? Is it possible that polarized politics is a good thing, encouraging sharp debate and clear position?” . Polarization becomes very intense in the US, to the point where it indicates a long passive culture war. As a result , instead of debates being resolved, “Polarization is a force that can defeat us.” This foreshadows that culture war may never be resolved, but only discourage and set more oil within the

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Powerful Essays

    Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and Organizations Across Nations. Second Edition, Thousand Oaks CA: Sage Publications, 2001.…

    • 2284 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Today, America is facing a huge social division, more than ever before. The reason behind this is the obvious difference in ideas and beliefs Americans have. Ideas and beliefs can vary a lot depending on factors such as: income statues, educational background, and religious belief.…

    • 250 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Summary: The New Divide

    • 977 Words
    • 4 Pages

    When change happens, does the change happen immediately or does it take generations for people to notice a difference? The change happening in the southern United States after the Civil War was one that would take a time no one expected. Many citizens thought the end of the Civil War would bring people together but the separation of people was still the same. In this paper, I will conclude that the divide of former slaves and slave owners was still strong and the slave owners did not want to change their ways of life and used anything in their power to get back to older times. The paper will be divided in three parts. The start will discuss the end of the Civil War and the difficulties the former slaves still faced,…

    • 977 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the readings of the four articles, they have address the problem with polarization in the people and cultural division. In Wilson's and Fiornia's articles they both mention how there is a deep division in America but Fiornia believes that the American public are more concerned about solving their political problems than the division. According to Wilson, he's view are some-what opposite, he believes that this cultural division will not fade since it was born when this country started. In Judis's article, he also mentions the division in the American public, but he chooses the popular group that has the media's eye which is the Tea Parties. He mentions how there is a division between the Tea Parties and the government and that some of their problems will fade. In the article of my choosing which was Partisan Mood: Polarization and the Dynamics of Mass Party Preferences, was about how the American public are categorized in political groups or parties due to their personal, political or religious views. Even though some of these articles are about the division between small political parties or the division of the Republicans and Democrats, there are still a division in America which can be harmful to trying to keep the United States united.…

    • 1085 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    After reading “The Polarized Public? Why American Government is so dysfunctional” and further looking upon the PEW research center as well as ANES data base Abramowitz seems to have categorized the factors that influence the polarization, and it seems that the divided in belief and opinions have widened, and are now deeply influential to political parties and government fundamentals, as the polarization is found in…

    • 1012 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Chapters 10 through 12 in Political Polarization in American Politics explain what causes polarization and who is involved. This reading supports the ideas from chapter four which says that politics has become polarized on more issues than before due to conflict extension. Both Congress and the voters are deeply polarized, driven by two major factors, coming from a change in government and social interactions as well as a “long-term realignment”. Therefore, polarization comes from previous political beliefs and alignments, splitting Republican and Democratic opinions on how much government interaction should be present on policies such as welfare, tax cuts, and Obamacare. Increased competition leads to higher stakes in every political dispute,…

    • 379 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    For over 60 years, there has been a profound separation in the United States government. The main source of division is between the Democratic and Republican parties. These parties are said to be polarized parties. In this case, polarization is when political parties stand for a different position depending on certain topics. The United States cant seem to come to an agreement with anything because these parties are on two totally different pages in almost every aspect of the government, spending, racial and social issues, war and law just to name a few. The differences between these two parties has caused the government to go into an uproar. The question that stands in front of us is how did American politics become so polarized, and can this polarization lead to changes in the American system?…

    • 1083 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Politicians have used polarization to create a divide and extreme dislike among both political parties. Political polarization occurs when government representatives begin to incorporate personal ideologies in an extreme manner during their political career. For example, a Republican politician begins to speak about their capitalistic and religious beliefs to their Republican audience. They are…

    • 628 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    “The defining political fact of our time is the division of America (Greenberg).” This is how George Stephanopoulos, a television journalist and former political adviser, summarizes the reality of American politics. One reason for this is America’s two-party system. These parties are the Democrats and the Republicans. Some people believe they are good, but others see them as destructive and useless. Political parties are bad for the United States because they are limited and cause national division.…

    • 799 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although those who disagree with Paine’s statement have an understandable viewpoint in arguing that the wide range of cultures would clash, the regulation of our nation’s various cultures proves to be self sufficient and effective. This issue in regards to the various culture’s self regulation methods is addressed as Paine quotes, “that the union of such a people was impracticable; but by the simple operation of constructing government...all the difficulty retires, and all the parts are brought into cordial unison.” In spite of the stress that the government has to ensure in order to keep the various cultures from fighting one another, it does leave a positive impact in the long run. Cultures are respected by others, and conflict is nonexistent between the various people’s beliefs and customs. On a personal matter, growing up living in various countries (i.e. Japan, Philippines, Guam) has taught me to adhere to various cultures. The military lifestyle of consistently traveling from place to place has only increased my respect to those who are different than myself. I am able to adhere to people of various cultures, instead of distancing myself away from those who have contrasting characteristics. On that note, the regulation of our government is simply favored in terms of bringing…

    • 661 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Polarization In Congress

    • 887 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Representatives may vote against a bill primarily due to a squabble they have with a bill supporter, or his party. In “Polarizing Cues,” writer Nicholson explains his research and how he found that “in-party leader cues do not persuade but that out-party leader cues polarize” (1). Further, because they choose these actions, they take polarization to an exceedingly uncooperative level. In other words, instead of agreeing with those who share their ideals, the congressmen improve their credentials by striving to disagree with their opponents. These congressmen commit such acts primarily due to their polarized nature; ideally, polarized leaders should not disagree with another purely based on their credentials. Nicholson also explains that parties serve as tentative psychological in- and out-groups, which influence a voting politician’s decisions (1). While he contends that politicians themselves serve as polarizing cues, he discusses their positions as in- and out-group politicians based on the political parties. Therefore, polarization also stems from political parties. In removing the bipartisan system, perpetrators of such actions also disappear; the removal of political parties also implies a lack of party lines, the main cause of such polarized…

    • 887 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Congress is facing a multitude of consequences due to high levels of polarization. First, there are many scholars who believe that increases in polarization are damaging to American democracy. This trend contributes to the frustrations present in the policymaking process. In addition to Binder and Jones finding polarization associated with gridlock and policy inaction, they also discovered that ideological divergence between the parties has a stronger effect on government's legislative productivity than does divided party control of government. This suggests that the lack of work being completed in Congress is actually due to the parties being so far apart rather than it being caused by the divided control.…

    • 1872 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The polarization of individual viewpoints and political ideologies has become a matter of increasing concern in the United States. In the words of Professor Cass Sunstein of the Harvard Law School, “The greatest danger of the echo chambers is unjustified extremism...if you get a group of people who tend to think something, after they talk to each other, they end up thinking a more extreme version of what they thought before.” We as individuals tend to seek discussions that support our own beliefs, pushing us into echo chambers that reverberate with our own ideologies. This drives us farther and farther apart from those who hold opposing viewpoints.…

    • 191 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Spread Of Culture Essay

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Everyone has heard of culture, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they know what it means. Often times people confuse terms such as culture, society, and ethnic group, but they all mean very different things. A society is a group that shares a geographic region, a common language, and a sense of identity and culture; an ethnic group is a group of people who share a language, customs, and a common heritage; culture is how people act and their judgement towards one another. Also, not many people know how culture changes or how it’s spread. In this essay, I will describe culture, how it’s spread, and how it changes.…

    • 471 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Cited: "Culture of the United States - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2011. .…

    • 1433 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays