Throughout this paper there will be a critical analysis for the following texts: “Culture War? Myth of a Polarized America,” “No Compromise: The Electoral Origins of Legislative Gridlock,” “The Big Sort: Migration, Community, and Politics in the United States of “Those People,” “Post Broadcast Democracy,” “Red State, Blue State, Rich State, Poor State,” and finally “Is Polarization a Myth?” By analyzing these texts, I will be providing insight into the similarities and differences that come about based on my readings and research. I will also give arguments for the perspectives that I find most captivating in these texts and give reasons as to why I believe my arguments are valid. In “Culture War? Myth of a Polarized America” …show more content…
He blames the spreading of this myth on the politicians because they are the ones who are using it as political ammunition. Throughout the first chapter, Fiorina describes the rise and flow of the culture war idea. The culture war invades society from high-level politicians to every level of news media. He accuses them of exaggeration and lying, and believes that they all contributed to the spread of the culture war myth. He suggests that most Americans are bystanders in a war between activists on the right and the left. Fiorina gives three reasons for this myth being spread: “misinterpretation of election results, lack of comprehensive examination of public opinion data, and systematic and self-serving misrepresentation by issue activists and selective coverage by an uncritical media” (Fiorina 8). I really liked how he ended chapter one by outlining his argument so that in chapter two, it will continue to cover what he has gone over in chapter one and focus on certain points. Throughout chapter two, Fiorina discusses the question: if his hypothesis is correct, then why does everyone else think differently? Fiorina recognizes four factors that can shed …show more content…
Economic indicators, unemployment and inflation rates, provide evidence of polarization (Jacobsen 17). Certain factors, such as job approval, and economic approval, lead supporters to go in a different direction when it come to their evaluations of the president (Jacobsen 21). Polarization is evident when Democrats and Republicans have different responses to the same information about what is going on in the economy. It is easy to distinguish between different preferences because the Republicans care more about inflation than unemployment and polarization. Supporters have different responses, depending on the party that is in control of the current presidency. In “The Big Sort: Migration, Community, and Politics in the United States of “Those People,” B. Bishop and R. Cushing, try to define and argue the implications of the social and political break up that has swept across America over the last couple of years. Their sights are set on identifying an occurrence, and interpreting it for a certain types of people. Bishop is not examining a new concept, the list of divisions he recites is familiar. The two major political parties have become more extreme and cannot find common
Renowned author Charles Dickens once wrote, “it was the best of times and the worst of times” (Tale of Two Cities). An all to true statement when one looks at the current American political situation, but author and journalist Jonathan Rauch endeavors to analyze the current political climate and explain how it became what it is today. In his article ‘How American Politics went Insane’, Rauch dissects the 2016 election and events leading up to the final vote to understand how politics went sideways. Rauch begins by offering a hypothetical scenario that depicts an extreme disintegration of American politics and its political institutions and parties.
In the article, “Multiculturalism: Battleground or Meeting Ground,” Takaki starts out addressing the difference in philosophy between him and Woodward when it comes to cultural diversity. Woodward strongly disagrees with Takaki when it comes to the topic of cultural diversity. They both are seeing issue threw two difference lens. Woodward attacked Takaki on the issue when Woodward reviewed Takaki’s “Iron Cages: Rave and Culture in Nineteeth-Century America” book in the “New York Review of Books,” saying it was too narrow in focus (Takaki, n.d). Woodward rebuttal was that the book did not contain any balance, and should have touched on “national issues” to have that balance and not just the American south. Woodward even said that Takaki was
But what she didn´t know was that she was caught in the crossfire of a culture war being waged be local evangelicals inspired by their high-profile congressional representative” this is comparable to the element in Filkins “Atonement”, “Lobello and his buddies were mobilized after the 9/11 attacks” Both pieces demonstrate the betrayal of the public’s trust in its government.
Harold E. Stearns’ Critique of American Culture in the Book, Civilization in the United States
Many studies try to measure political culture within states, but some political scientists are wary of assigning state political cultures because such measurements may be of dubious empirical grounding. While the process may not be entirely empirically sound, different state political cultures seem to exist and demand further analysis. In 1966, Daniel Elazar published his now famous assessment of United States’ political cultures. His evaluation of state cultures has been the focus of much study and criticism over the past three decades. Elazar proposes that the political culture in the United States developed in different regions due to east to west migratory patterns moving across the continent. Patterns of political culture were established during the Western frontier migration, as individuals followed “lines of least resistance which generally led them due west from the immediately previous area of settlement” (Elazar, 1966: 99). As a result, like-minded individuals migrated together and stayed together, causing similar political ideology to transform into a dominant political culture (Elazar, 1994).
But, it also speaks to the wider systematic polarization within the American political system. Political polarization in the United States is a result of cultural and geographical polarization. South V. North, Republican V. Democrat and is firmly rooted in regional history. The cowboy persona which some of these Presidents and politicians choose to adopt, is inherently linked to the physical geographical place from which they hail and the role that place has played in the unfolding of American history. It shapes the character of, (as of yet at least) “the man”, his administration and ultimately the policy of the country for at least four years. The image and persona adopted by these men is nurtured by the regional culture and history of the place that they reside and represent. It can be seen in every president from Kennedy to Reagan and Bush to Obama.
John Chambers of the University of Florida measures the difference between "actual" and "perceived" polarizat...
Woodard explains to his readers about this “cultural Cold War” and clash of cultures that is occurring internally throughout the nations. He labels it as an “internal civil war” that led people as far as physical violence. So now, not only do we, as a nation, still struggle as a whole with these essential freedoms, our individual pockets of people are also starting to crumble and fall apart. Historically, this was a low moment, culturally, for the United States. Our identity became much foggier. The few parts of our culture we might have thought to be solid or concrete, now collapsed from the inside
In the text, “The American Cultural Configuration” the authors express the desire of anthropologists to study their own culture despite the difficulty that one faces attempting to subjectively analyze their own society. Holmes and Holmes (2002), use the adage “not being able to see the forest through the trees” (p. 5) to refer to how hard it is for someone to study something they have largely taken for granted. The Holmes' article focuses predominately on paradoxes within our own culture, many of which we don't notice. In a paradox, two contradicting statements can appear to be true at the same time. This essay looks at two paradoxes commonly found in everyday life: the individual versus the family and religion.
Cultural conflicts are the result of the animal instinct within humans to be the strongest and people's varying beliefs.
The idea of political culture is found within the state’s history. The history of the state is impacted by the people settled in the region, religious backgrounds, and geography. The history of the state influences the attitudes and beliefs that people hold regarding their political system. Daniel Elazar theorized a connection between the states’ history and attitude towards government by explaining differences in government between states. Every state is different with some common ground. Elazar’s theory divides states into three types: moralistic, traditionalistic and individualistic. The state’s constitution defines the powers of government with political culture bias. Because of the state constitution, the political culture influences the power and limitations of governors, legislative, and judiciaries.
Sometimes, though, even the most rabid political partisan might see it fit to break away from the party’s talking points and weave a narrative that might have the effect of causing supporters to flee. This deflection from
The voters that do make it to the polls however are influenced mostly by the
During the clash of any two cultures, there will always be disaccord in major ideologies and ways of thinking which eventually leads to reform or sometimes regression. Concepts of morality and cultural practices can create dissonance when there are opposing views, causing a shift in ethics in order to protect their original way of existence. At times, this conflict can birth efforts at positive social reconstruction, however during specific instances it causes severe destruction and loss of ethical direction. Both in the 16th and 19th century in the landscape of the New World, there was a plethora of contact that occurred between the Euro-Americans and Indigenous peoples that was an instigator in various conflicts as well as social and moral
The democratic government in place in the United States of America allows all Americans to have their say in what occurs in this country. Through the power of the vote, Americans can decide who they want to represent them in every level of the government. Getting elected, however, is not as easy as it sounds. It would reasonable to assume that a candidate would be elected to their position if they are more qualified than their opponents. This however is becoming less and less true. Nowadays, instead of always voting for the person who is the best at handling their prospective job, people are voting for candidates who handle themselves the best during the campaign. The candidate who is the most charismatic, funny, and outgoing is usually the person who is going to get elected. This is becoming particularly true in the case of many celebrities who have entered the field of politics. Although these people, who have gained fame in another field, are not as qualified for the job as others in the election, they find themselves capturing the majority of the vote anyway.