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Essay On Polarization

852 Words4 Pages

Political identification can bring a sense of unity amongst other individuals who also align with their political identification. Political polarization refers to cases in which someone’s stance on a given issue, policy, or person is strictly defined by their identification with a particular political party or ideology. Polarization has the potential to threaten our democracy, it doesn’t allow for productive conversations or compromise; something necessary for a healthy democracy. Polarization affects not only congress’s ability to make policy change, but it also creates a political atmosphere constantly in stalemate. While polarization often times isn’t good for a democracy, there are a few ways in which it can also be beneficial to our two-party …show more content…

There are basic foundational principles that are important when it comes to understanding what a successful democracy is – I will provide those some of foundational principles and how polarization can overall threaten our American Democracy. According to Hershey Americans are becoming disinterested in politics and less civically engaged in part because of the hostile political parties. The unengaged citizen poses the greatest threat to our American democracy because citizens who are disinterested are unable to make change. There are other benchmarks that are lay the basic foundation of democracy. According to Greenberg and Page, mention that political liberty and equality are necessary for a democracy to be considered successful (Greenberg and page, pg. 30). Political liberty states that all citizens in a democracy are protected from government; this notion is being threatened. Polarization is threatening political liberty primarily because of laws that allow ideological gerrymandering. With more conservative states getting more conservative and Democratic states becoming more liberal it is allowing voters to sort themselves into more ideologically homogenous districts that it is politicians drawing these lines. The idea of ideological gerrymandering causes polarization on a smaller scale, it then becomes between districts that polarization is

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In the article, “The Case for Partisanship” by Matthew Yglesias, he explains how in the 1950’s, the American Political Science Association’s Committee strongly presented the idea that polarization is good. Today, many people look down upon political polarization. The mid-20th century appeared united politically but in fact the country was deeply divided over civil rights and politics. Conservatives and liberals could appear in both the Republican and Democratic parties due to foreign policy and racial issues overlapping on traditional conservative and liberal beliefs. The interconnection of political parties in the past has suddenly gone down.

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859 Words | 4 Pages

He also points out differences between liberal and more conservative parties. Through these topics, he informs the reader of his opinions regarding problems in American politics; the equality of people governed and the divide amongst political parties. To begin his discussion, Berry describes how everyone has to pick a side in politics. He discusses the lack of understanding of what it really means to be in a particular party by saying, “It doesn’t matter that neither of these labels signifies much in the way of intellectual

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813 Words | 4 Pages

The differentiators that account for the variation are the parties and Congress. Meinke then deduces from the information that the majority party in Congress exhibits a significant substantial number of members that advertise their partisan activity — “…majority party status—and possibly the strength of the party brand name—is associated with the choice.” (Meinke 860) Meinke also discovers that the stronger the partisan base (measured by same-party presidential vote), there is a more

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273 Words | 2 Pages

Party polarization is the division between the two major parties on most policy issues, with members of each party is unified around their party’s position with little crossover. The competing explanations for polarization are how congressional representatives are elected, lawmakers selecting a candidate for office and as congressional districts and states have become more homogeneous. Every 10 years, congressional district geographic boundaries are redrawn so that each district has roughly the same population. These districts are increasingly drawn to be safe for one political party or another so that the district has a clear majority of either republicans or Democrats. This process is known as gerrymandering.

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1067 Words | 5 Pages

One strength of a political party is that they are “essential institutions for the operation of the American government” (Barker, 2016, p. 1, para. 1). One of the functions of the political party is to be the middle person between citizens and “their elected government” (Barker, 2016, p. 4, para. 2) so that the people can feel as if their voices will be heard and the issues will be resolved. Although political parties should be for the people, one of the weaknesses is that “many believe that the major parties do not do an adequate job of

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519 Words | 3 Pages

In the article Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized America, Morris Fiorina addresses the issue of the illusion of political polarization. Political polarization is the separation of political beliefs into two separate extremes. The main illustration Fiorina uses is the use the electoral map. The electoral map is used to gauge which party won an election or polling.

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609 Words | 3 Pages

In everyday conversations a subject that frequently tends to arise is American politics. During these conversations a variation of sub topics often occur usually pertaining to the Army’s funding, elections, and the different political parties. One of these topics that tends to cause a lot of feuding is the different political parties. In my family alone, we partake in disputes based on our different political parties, I am a Democrat while my parents are Republican. Often, we participate in quarrels over different events that occur in society.

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734 Words | 3 Pages

As the foundations of a successful government system, political parties help keep balance of power and uphold the Democratic ideals of the United States. These parties have origins that can trace back to the early sectional tensions in America. These sectional tensions were the primary reasons for the development and progression of political parties in the United States. As early as 1800, signs of deviation would appear.

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950 Words | 4 Pages

Definition Essay Rough Draft Government is an important aspect in today’s world, especially regarding the opposition of being either a republican, democrat, or falling somewhere in between. One may identify them self as being one or the other, but how does one come to the conclusion of being a republican instead of a democrat or vice versa? It all comes down to how a person defines government and different political parties. A person may base his or her political beliefs off of what is said in media or from what one is accustomed to, but various questions and concerns regarding what ideas one supports go into picking the “right” political party.

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758 Words | 4 Pages

Political Parties serve a crucial role in congressional campaigns, especially for candidate recruitment. One significant role political parties serve is the state law of redistricting, “Because the composition of House districts can make the difference between winning and losing, the two major parties and individual politicians, particularly incumbents, often fight fierce battles in state legislatures over the alignment of districts.” (Smith, et al., 2007). Similar to my previous discussion, the congressional district map is crucial to the success of political parties and gerrymandering is just apart of the nature of political parties. In order for political parties to completely reap the benefits of their constituents, they must draw a map that serves their best interest.

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784 Words | 4 Pages

By restraining the influence of the government on daily life, the United States will be able to return to the great nation of freedom; a nation in which its founding fathers so vehemently fought to build. Similarly, politics should not be controlled strictly according to political parties, and Coolidge urged people to support the values they believe in, not a certain political party. In today’s world, I think many politicians would benefit from acting in the way of doing the right thing, rather than supporting sides merely based on political affiliation. For this reason, I am passionate about educating myself as much as possible to candidates beliefs, and I look forward to being able to take part in my first elections in coming

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572 Words | 3 Pages

Over the last decade congressional polarization has increased at alarming rates causing Washington insiders and outsiders alike to worry about the future of American politics and democracy. While Democrats and Republicans on The Hill cannot agree on much, they both acknowledge that the increasing level of polarization in Washington is crippling the entire legislative branch, thereby undermining the greatest democracy in the world. Numerous public opinion polls, over the last few years, have shown that the vast majority of the American public, regardless of party affiliation, disapproves of, and feels unrepresented by, the extremely polarized legislature (Gallup, 2016). However, year after year, despite how many Americans become disgruntled

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1602 Words | 7 Pages

works as well as for individuals who understand the process and sought insider information. Rivlin (2022) utilized storytelling of her experiences in Washington D.C. to display how even though there were times that partisanship would prevail, the efforts of lawmakers and other government officials to pass laws to benefit the American public succeeded. Through those experiences, she describes ways to address the rise of division in the US and even ways for normal Americans to get involved which greatly benefits people who want to change things. However, the lack of text dedicated to addressing Republicans’ slide toward authoritarianism will hinder any progress to increase bipartisanship. The Washington Center Academic Seminar highlighted the points focusing on bipartisanship addressing issues rather than focusing on partisan conflict.

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1851 Words | 8 Pages

Since the founding of the United States, there have been two main parties. Disagreeing on whether the constitution should be ratified, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton helped in founding the first political parties while serving on George Washington’s cabinet (ushistory.org). Starting with the Federalist and the Democratic-Republican parties, then Democratic Party and the National Republican Party, and then the Democratic and Whig Parties, and finally to the now well-known rivalry between the Democratic and Republican Parties, the two-party system is a long-standing tradition in the United states (Blake). The two-party system definitely has some advantages. It allows for political stability, a smaller pool of candidates for public office, a simplified version of political information, and the representation of multiple political ideals (“9 Advantages and Disadvantages”).

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491 Words | 2 Pages

Although it would not become a lawless anarchy, it would become a dull, frail, lifeless government. Without the spark and fire of political parties, America would become lethargic and mundane. As previously stated; political parties are the heart and brain of America’s government. That means without political parties, America's government would become essentially lifeless. With that it can be said that political parties are essential and beneficial to America's government, people, and political

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