Polarization Of Politics

Superior Essays
Proposed Solution to the Polarization of American Politics
The political division of the people of the United States has never felt stronger than it does now. After the result of the 2016 election, it feels as though half of our country feels completely betrayed while the other half is overcome with joy. This is not how the country should be. The polarization between the two main parties, Republican and Democrat, has reached a point that is becoming concerning for the near future. According to the Pew Research Center, which conducted a year-long study on the polarization of our nation, “Republicans and Democrats are further apart ideologically than at any point in recent history” (Carroll Doherty).
This phenomenon was recently displayed on
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The Washington Post published an article that talks about the polarization of our politics. The article states that “polling suggests a sustained decline in centrism among the general public” and that “there is little agreement as to what is causing the trend” (Gebelhoff). The article suggests that perhaps the political system is one of the main causes of this trend, such as gerrymandering and the primary process. Gerrymandering is the act of people in high political positions drawing the map for electoral districts, usually to benefit themselves or the party they are aligned with. The primary process can also be a cause to this trend because less people vote in the primaries and therefore, less people can voice their opinion on something that will directly affect them. These are valid reasons that could be considered for contributing a lot to this problem because these things have an impact on politics that is usually not an entirely accurate representation of what the people want. The article also states that there is no easy solution to fix this growing trend of separation. It says that this polarization of our political system is perhaps a design flaw in …show more content…
The issue is continuing to get worse as time goes on. Statistics show that our nation is only growing apart more and nothing points to the people of the United States becoming more unified in the near future. Solutions need to be proposed for this problem to be alleviated, or consequences could arise from this. People need to discuss more, try to change the way our political system is run, and try to educate each other more. Statistics show that this problem is getting more and more serious as time goes on, and this needs to change so that the United States can progress. People need to start talking to each other about solutions to these issues. Discussions should be held where people from differing parties can come to hear opposing viewpoints, and a college campus is a perfect place to do this. The more people that get exposed to the working of politics and the analyzing of our nation’s problems, the more people there will be in order to find

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