Liberals argue that firearms are not needed for protection, due to the fact that there is local law enforcement that is supposed to protect people from harm.
Conservatives believe that everyone has the right to use arms. The conservatives think that firearms are must have due to the fact that everyone needs to be able to protect themselves.
Liberals support amnesty for illegal immigrants, they think that because they are not documented they shouldn’t be treated differently. The illegal immigrants deserve to be treated just as legal citizens of the United States.
Conservatives support immigration, they believe that those who illegally come into the United States do not deserve the same rights as citizens. Conservatives support building a
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Political Compromise and Divisive Policy Debates
The nation’s increasing ideological polarization makes political compromise more difficult, in part because those at opposite ends of the ideological spectrum see less benefit in meeting the other side halfway Political Engagement and Activism
Those who hold consistently liberal or conservative views, and who hold strongly negative views of the other political party, are far more likely to participate in the political process than the rest of the nation.
The truth is that Americans are not divided on each issue, there are very important issues that most Americans agree. The point is that they are not part of the political discourse because everyone agrees. A good example of this is the ban on alcohol. Throughout the nineteenth century, prohibition was a very controversial issue and was an important part of political discourse. In 1920, public opinion shifted in favor of the ban, which later became part of
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However the ban turned out to be a failure and the public opinion changed. Since then, there has been a consensus that prohibition was a bad idea. The Prohibition Party still exists, but only receive a few hundred votes each election because people are satisfied with the current laws on alcohol. As the prohibition in the past, issues like abortion and homosexual marriage are important today because there is no general consensus and there is still a debate that must be held. Fifty years ago, the idea of gay marriage would have been ridiculous because the consensus was that homosexuality was immoral. It would have been political suicide to advocate gay marriage then. It only became a major problem after a large part of the population changed their opinion about homosexuality. In another fifty years, it is likely that Americans will once again reach a consensus on gay marriage, and anyone who continues to push the issue will be viewed as a lunatic.
Political polarization is the defining feature of early 21st-century American politics, both among the public and elected officials. As part of a one-year polarization study, it is found that Republicans and Democrats are more ideologically separated than at any point in recent history. An increasing number of Republicans and Democrats express very negative views of the opposing party. And to a considerable degree, polarization is reflected in the personal lives and lifestyles of those on the right and