Political Polarization in the US
American politics have grown significantly over the years, with America being branded as the largest democracy in the world. Americans have been convinced into believing that democracy is the best government that can ever exist. Besides, Americans are allowed to enjoy their civil rights by being allowed to pursue the ideology that befits their political interests. The passing of time has seen a significant gap develop between federalists and conservatives and American politics have generally been defined across the federal and conservative lines. The emergence of democratic and republican parties has led to a wide gap between the American, which widens every time an election comes along. The democratic and republican parties represent the left and right wings of the American setting and have been developing significantly over the years. Every-day life in America is based in a us-against-them system of an argument with partisanship growing among the Americans while the overlap of ideologies has significantly diminished.
The history of modern polarization can be attributed to a history that has been founded on the development of policies to create more division among Americans. One of the historical events that have remained relevant in American politics was the signing of the Voting Rights Bill by President Lyndon Johnson in 1965 (Berman, 15). Generally, Johnson was afraid that the bill would split America into a Democrats and Republican blocs but went ahead and signed the bill. After the signing of the bill, several attempts have been made to restrict the voting rights of the Americans. Generally, the efforts have only done little in the efforts to avoid the impacts caused by the passing of the bill. Furthermore, most of the efforts have been made on the Supreme Court to impact the way voting is done in America. However, mending the gap is not easy because the Americans are divided along with ideologies that appear to be mutually exclusive. The opinions of Ari Barman are founded on the historical events that have led to the current split between the conservatives and the liberals.
American faces the challenge of having differing ideologies that prevent Americans from looking at the large image of the challenges facing the country. The solutions needed for various issues such as immigration and gun control laws face unhealthy resistance from people who base their arguments on whether or not the proposal is in line with the ideologies that befit their alienation. According to Berman, the Voting Rights Act is one of the common examples that proof that America is divided along ideological lines and that history is to blame for the ever-growing gap. The signing of the bill presented a dilemma to the president in that one side of the bill presented fear while the other promised victory. The voting rights bill would change American politics for an unforeseeable future and democracy would grow significantly (Berman, 50). However, the South was on the risk of getting lost to the Republican Party and the president was not willing to give in to the demands of his opponents. Moreover, the bill has remained an issue of debate for a long time, and even the Supreme Court has not been able to offer an interpretation that will avoid the differences in interpretations.
The interpretations of the Voting Rights Bill come in different forms when opinions are obtained from the different blocs of the political system. The conservatives on one side believe that the Voting Rights Bill should allow the Americans to vote without further specifications. However, the liberals believe that the bill should take into consideration the interests of the minority groups such as the African-Americans who have been overlooked in previous systems. The debate has been growing more significant for more than five decades, with Americans being keen on seeing their ideology remains strong. The efforts by the Supreme Court to provide a solution have not been bearing fruits because most of the interpretations provided are shallow and overlook the concerns raised by the Americans. Besides, the conflicting liberals and conservatives have made all the attempts to see the gap remain wide and to counter any attempts made to close the gap as they believe that democracy grows on their differences. Moreover, the success of the Voting Rights Bill has led to significant impacts on political polarization.
American politics always suffer from ideological shifts when one bloc decides to take advantage of the loopholes in the leadership of the other bloc. However, some attempts have led to amendments in the Voting Rights Act, which have been costly to some groups. 2013 overturn mainly caused by the growing concern on the attempts of the Democratic Party to use black Americans as bait for winning against the Republicans. The Democrats were advocating for high registration of African-Americans into the electoral system to beat the dominance that the Republicans had sustained in the South. Generally, the concerns forced the Supreme Court to add more restrictions on the Voting Rights Act, giving Americans more challenges in their bid to access the ballot box. Moreover, movements advocating for rights such as labor acts, women’s rights and LGBTQ have transformed over time in the face of American politics.
A common belief had been growing among political analysts that politicians and other commentators were taking advantage of the working-class Americans to vote for their ideologies. Cultural aspects such as gay rights and abortion policies had been seen as strategies by conservatives to convince the working-class Americans into voting for economic policies. However, Robert Self holds a different opinion in his book, “All in the Family: The Realignment of American Democracy since the 1960s”concerning the claim that a particular group was taking advantage of the less considerate working-class Americans. Self instead argued that America was gradually transiting from a conservative bread-winning perspective into a liberal bread-winning aspect. The transition is responsible for the common political dialogues that have existed among conservatives and modern liberalists. Moreover, some movements and efforts to improve civil rights did not offer the expected results, and America has since struggled to come out of the complications caused by historical movements.
American governments have always attempted to create an environment that makes everyone in the US involved in decision making. Besides, a democracy advocates for the freedom and rights of everyone and even the opinions of the minorities are considered b offering them representation in the government. Robert Self, however, presents attempts that did not go as planned and landed America into the current state of modern polarization (Self, n. p). The struggle for independence by the African-Americans from the yokes of White Supremacy had gone on for several decades. The initial efforts by President Johnson brought a bit of light to the minority groups, although the Whites did not take the move lightly. Generally, Johnson’s government was determined to end racial discrimination and give the blacks a chance to be productive and eventually contribute positively to the economy. Black masculinity was on the government’s plans, and affirmatives were being developed to see a dream come true. However, the white supremacists viewed the move as an attempt to have their masculinity and family status targeted. Generally, the advocacy for equal civil rights led to further divisions since the Whites were afraid of losing their supremacy over their black counterparts. Moreover, the development of civil movements is responsible for the expansion of civil rights in the US as well as the current partisanship among the Americans.
Civil rights movements are responsible for the expansive civil rights and partisanship in the US. The rights of minority groups in the US had not been clearly defined even after the end of slavery. However, America witnessed an emergence of civil movements that advocated for more representation and liberation of minority groups. For example, the Black Freedom Movement brought to light the interests of gay men who were against the belief in breadwinner liberalism. According to Self, the movement was responsible for the advocacy of privacy and the move to have the gay society recognized and accepted by the constitution. Politicians and other commentators in the various political blocs took advantage of the interests of the various movements to shape their ideologies to fit the interests of the people. For example, the Democratic Party was seen in most recent elections advocating for the rights of all the Americans while the Republican Party has stood for the cultural sanity of the Americans. Generally, the political alienation in the US borrows heavily from the development of civil movements. Moreover, the opinions by Self appear to have overlooked the discussion of Obama’s administration, although Self clearly defines the impact of blacks, gays, lesbians and feminists on the change in American politics.
The 1960s and 1970s were characterized by significant changes in the operation of politics in the US. Most civil movements were confident in having the government recognize their presence while coming up with policies. Although Self’s opinions date back before Obama’s administration, the arguments show the impact of blacks’ movements in the previous years. Black, gay, feminist and lesbian movements cannot be overlooked concerning their contribution towards the current state of American politics. Generally, American politics have constantly changed to lead to the modern political polarization where the gap between conservatives and liberalists has continued to widen.
In sum, every-day life in America is based in a us-against-them system of an argument with partisanship growing among the Americans while the overlap of ideologies has significantly diminished. Generally, the history of modern polarization can be attributed to a history that has been founded on the development of policies to create more division among Americans. The opinions of Ari Barman are founded on the historical events that have led to the current split between the conservatives and the liberals. Moreover, Robert Self argues that movements advocating for rights such as labor acts, women’s rights and LGBTQ have transformed over time in the face of American politics. , American politics have changed continuously to lead to the modern political polarization where the gap between conservatives and liberalists has continued to widen.
Works Cited
Ari Berman, Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America (New York: Picador), 2016. ISBN-10: 1250094720; ISBN-13: 978-1250094728
Robert O. Self, All in the Family: The Realignment of American Democracy since the 1960s (New York: Hill and Wang), 2012. ISBN-10: 0809026740; ISBN-13: 978-0809026746