Threat To America: Political Polarization Hurts Our Unity
The United States is currently far from united. Political polarization has caused a great divide between Republicans and Democrats. Although the U.S. has many threats, none have taken the heart of America captive like polarization.
According to the New York Times, 42% of people in each party would describe the other party as “downright evil,” which was found in a 2019 study by Danny Hayes. According to Axios, just 4% of Americans think the other party is “fair.” How is the United States supposed to function as a nation with numbers like these?
This hatred between parties is a direct threat to the future of our country and must be combatted by everyone. It is dangerous and wrong.
Political parties have allowed their voters to grow hateful of the other party to gain a political advantage. The common strategy of both parties is to block anything the other party does and be against anything the other party believes. This approach is inefficient, shallow and contrary to what the United States stands for.
Having a strategy that is only anti-Democrat or anti-Republican is not a platform, it is idolatry to labels.
Sometimes, parties or factions of parties do promote heinous things, whether it be abortion or the Capitol riot, but that should not mean that the entire party is inherently evil. Both parties have indeed shifted closer to their respective political extremes, allowing political influencers, partisan media and TV-focused representatives to light a fire under fringe partisans to boost party activity.
Again, voters have not necessarily instigated this movement, but they have allowed themselves to be swept into it. Party elites craft the agenda and sell it to their supporters, and partisans are drinking the Kool-Aid.
The line between Republican and Democrat has become a great chasm where bipartisanship and moderation are strongly discouraged. Just in the last year, both parties have labeled those that went against the party line heretics.
Republicans label those who do not perfectly fit within the party lines “RINOs,” Republicans In Name Only. Despite her strong conservative track record, Rep. Liz Cheney has been abandoned by the Republican Party because she voted to impeach former President Trump and participated in the Jan. 6 commission. Although she voted with Trump more than her replacement in party leadership, she committed the unpardonable sin of being critical of Trump.
Democrats are just as controlling, labeling moderate Sen. Joe Manchin racist, sexist and other “-ists” typically thrown around by liberals for not rubber-stamping the Democrat agenda under the Biden presidency. Calling someone a “RINO” or traitor is problematic. It makes party membership more valuable than a person’s individual beliefs when the contrary should be true.
If you turn on CNN, they report Republicans as conspiracy theorists. If you turn on Fox News, they say Democrats want to abolish the police. But if you talk to your neighbor, they’re probably normal and love their country.
Critical thinking is key. When your party promotes a policy or labels someone a hero or villain, ask yourself why. Ask yourself if Liz Cheney or Joe Manchin are traitors for voting how they believe and decide for yourself. Think through your party’s agenda and evaluate the news sources. Do not simply accept everything they say because you are a supporter.
We should shake off the belief that the other party is inherently evil. Polarization has trained us to think this way, and it has caused the United States to crack. Instead, we should be independent thinkers who look at people and policies before we look at labels.
Browder is an opinion writer.