Hello students, it's me Caroline! Imagine sitting around the table for Thanksgiving dinner. The
smell of the turkey, the taste of the first bite, the sight of all your family surrounded with some
members present who you haven't seen in years. It's such a beautiful scene! This could be your
favorite holiday of the year if everyone could just stop talking about politics! First, your dad
says something negative about the economy. Then, his brother chimes in to say "It's all because of
the current party in power" followed by a snark insult. Then, your sister says something under
her breath but it is still heard by everyone at the table and so the argument begins.
Soon your mother is weeping on the staircase because she worked so hard on the dinner
all for it to be ruined by those nasty politics! It's true and you may have heard people are more
polarized than ever when it comes to their political views, but how did it get this way
and can we do anything to stop it? That's what we will discuss today. In today's lesson, you will
define political polarization in order to analyze its causes and effect on American identity.
Today's essential question is this: How does political polarization impact American identity?
As we have seen throughout this course, Americans are united by a political culture
and that culture is based on the idea that an individual with other individuals
can determine the direction of society. As we have discussed, there are two essential sides
to this idea and with these two sides we can subdivide the nation. But more and more people
have moved either further left or further right and this process called polarization is actually
threatening the politically moderate nature of American politics and identity today.
A question many young people ask about politics today is "Was it always this nasty and polarized?"
Well while politics always has had time periods filled with inflamed passions, research conducted
since 1994 shows a steady movement toward the ideological wings of political thought today.
This movement means that politically active people are moving from the center where they may have
held both conservative and liberal positions to positions that are sharply left or right of
center. In the 1990s, about half of the nation considered themselves to be centrist meaning
they considered themselves to have overlapping ideologies that changed by issue rather than
by party stance. That number has changed quite dramatically since the 90s however. The percentage
of centrists in the last decade has decreased into the 30s and as people move out of the center,
there is a tendency for people that are already planted firmly on the left or on the right to move
even further away from the center. This overall movement is known as political polarization.
Word alert! Political polarization is the divergence of political attitudes away from the
center towards ideological extremes. Throughout this course we have already identified some of
the causes of polarization, but now let's take a deeper look. But first, it's time
to show what you know! What has occurred since the 1990s? Please define political polarization.
It may be said that when political parties become polarized so do the people. And the parties have
become more polarized, much more. But how did this happen? Well this happened because the
dominant political parties have become associated with specific social identities such as religious
identities and racial identities rather than with purely ideological differences. It's gotten so
polarized that in 2012, researchers found that there was almost no overlap in the two parties.
Essentially, even a moderate republican was more conservative than a conservative democrat and vice
versa. Aside from the parties, we can also thank the 24-hour cable news cycle for the continued
polarization of politics. Trying to fill those hours with must-see news, these agencies tend to
shift the focus from high-level conversations about the impact and minutia of policies and
different proposals to more low-level political characterizations and exaggerations. It's more
entertaining and more lucrative to frame politics as winners versus losers rather than discuss
nuance. Because of this, political messaging becomes highly propagandized and as issues
are debated in the extreme, compromise becomes very difficult. But it's not just the cable news
stations that are causing this polarizing effect, it can potentially be caused by any media outlet.
That's because disinformation is becoming more and more prevalent as time moves forward.
These falsehoods can reinforce extreme views on either side of the political spectrum and at times
they can originate from foreign sources. And so many of the people who are politically active have
become more and more partisan, and through their active political life project an exaggerated image
of our divisions. Their voices carry further than those who are not as active and they make
it seem as if all of America is polarized and this helps encourage more polarization.
There are other reasons for why the partisan divide has increased. Social and economic
conditions cannot be ignored. Over the last 30 years, Gross Domestic Product in America which
measures the wealth produced by a nation has grown 96%. At the same time the median household income
has only grown 23%. 96% increase in total wealth, only 23% in median pay. So people aren't getting
paid much more than they were 30 years ago. This unfortunate reality leaves people rightfully upset
and this righteous frustration can lead them to the extremes when it comes to who is at fault and
how it should be fixed. Throw on top of that the rise in automation. Research has shown that for
every one robot introduced to the workforce, it potentially replaces six human workers!
These two examples alone reveal the growing economic vulnerability that the American worker
faces. These vulnerabilities are certainly good cause for alarm and as more and more people are
forced into poverty, our institutions become more strained and social conditions become
worse. Desperate people tend to become more radicalized and reactionary in an attempt to
either gain more from the system or to hold on to what they have. It's that time again,
time to show what you know! Please discuss the following causes of political polarization:
the Media, Disinformation, and Social and Economic conditions.
The impact of all this is that more politically active people report themselves as consistently
on the left or right. They further report that each side feels as if their
side should be attaining more in policy debates. And as partisanship solidifies,
politically active partisan people report more and more that they feel the other side
is not just wrong, but a threat to the nation. Rhetoric that vilifies the other side as a threat
can push people even further to extremes, resulting in outbursts of violence. Tragically
in 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia, more extreme polls of right and left movements
clashed in a deadly contest of the removal of a statue of confederate general Robert E Lee.
Although it only involved a few individuals, the event projected their fears that the nation
was turning too extreme. One would hope our elected officials could cool this heat down.
Instead, elected officials pander to their bases further polarizing the government and in turn, the
general population. Refusing to concede anything makes compromise either difficult or impossible.
It's important to remember students, compromise is the soul of democracy and without it issues cannot
be resolved. When issues are left unresolved, instability breaks society down and can lead to
authoritarianism. Students, the moderate nature of American political identity is under threat
on this very day. Listen, most Americans sit in the center and vote based on their conscience
with sincerity and they choose to vote for or against candidates, issues, and policies
based on more than just one piece of party or government propaganda or on party affiliation.
They do their due diligence. They study the issues. They seek out new information and
make sure to check their sources for bias. When they discuss politics with friends and family,
the goal is not to win but to learn. To learn more about the different approaches to policy,
more about the people around them, and more about government. They feel a sense
of responsibility when it comes to seeking out and protecting truth. And when they have a good
grip on what they wish to support, they engage in America's democratic practices: they vote.
They contact their local representatives, some may decide to become active in civic
associations or even run for office. Extreme polarization threatens this mode of moderate,
decent, democratic behavior and replaces it with a toxic tit-for-tat tribalism
which undermines our institutions and our faith in democratic principles.
While our great country may have been founded on principles and ideas that make us exceptional,
we are just as vulnerable to the same mistakes that have made other civilizations rise and
fall throughout history. We must never forget that. This is why we, each American citizen,
must be active in the preservation of our principles and our democracy. It is important to
understand that as polarization occurs, political antipathy also occurs. But while disengagement is
not the best answer to solving the problems posed by polarization, it does at least offer some hope.
It shows most Americans are not actually divided, but rather they reject these divisions. The true
challenge is to overcome our fears, to not settle for spoon-fed talking points of political parties,
to not rest in self-righteous bubbles that algorithms on social media help create,
to not disengage in politics entirely. Instead, it is our duty to be independent thinkers who are
active, well-researched, and respectful of others. We are called to be deeply engaged each day
in the continuous revolution for the basic principles on which this nation was founded.
Sound like a lot of work? Well just consider what happens in the alternative.
And now it's time to show what you know! First, how do politicians add to polarization?
Why can polarization lead to authoritarianism?
Finally, what demonstrates that average Americans are not actually divided?
Recap! Today we defined political polarization as the process of moving from the ideological center
to the extremes. We also looked at how political leaders, socioeconomic conditions,
and disinformation are creating this polarization.
Finally, we discussed the potential impact of polarization. And that's it for us today! We
are almost there, the end of the course is near. Can you feel it? The urge to engage
should be bursting from your skin at this point! So don't forget to vote, debate, and participate!