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Polarization in US politics
Forms and consequences of incivility
Polarization in US politics
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In Cornell Clayton's short essay “Incivility Crisis of politics Is Just a Symptom of Division” on incivility that occurs in politics that simply appears childish. He argues that incivility is not the cause of political conflict, the real cause is the deep division that we have had due to the polarization of wealth and political parties. This changes his tone on incivility not being the cause for political conflict, instead his tone shifts into the increasing divide on political parties. I agree with his claim that incivility is not the source of the problem which would be the growing inequality that people are facing. He argues that “The growing inequality in American wealth and opportunity drives bitter debates over taxation, government spending
Every person feels rivalry or competition towards others at some point in their lives. This rivalry greatly affects our ability to understand others, and this eventually results in paranoia and hostility. It is a part of human nature, that people coldly drive ahead for their gain alone. Man's inhumanity towards man is a way for people to protect themselves from having pain inflicted on them by others, and achieving their goals and desires without the interference of others. This concept of man's inhumanity to man is developed in A Separate Peace as the primary conflict in the novel centres on the main character, Gene, and his inner-battles with feelings of jealousy, paranoia, and inability to understand his relationship with his best friend Phineas. Competition is further demonstrated by the occurrence of World War II. It is shown that, "There were few relationships among us (the students) at Devon not based on rivalry." (p. 37) It is this rivalry and competition between the boys at Devon that ripped their friendships apart.
The United States of America has engaged in the battle known as political polarization since before its foundation in 1776. From the uprising against the powerful British nation to the political issues of today, Americans continue to debate about proper ideology and attempt to choose a side that closely aligns with their personal beliefs. From decade to decade, Americans struggle to determine a proper course of action regarding the country as a whole and will often become divided on important issues. Conflicts between supporters of slavery and abolitionists, between agriculturalists and industrialists, and between industrial workers and capitalists have fueled the divide. At the Congressional level there tends to be a more prevalent display of polarization and is often the blame of Congress’ inefficiency. James Madison intentionally designed Congress to be inefficient by instating a bicameral legislation. Ambition would counter ambition and prevent majority tyranny. George Washington advised against political parties that would contribute to polarization and misrepresentation in his Farewell Address of 1796. Washington warns, “One of the expedients of party to acquire influence within particular districts is to misrepresent the opinions and aims of other districts.” Today, the struggle to increase power between political parties results in techniques to gain even the smallest marginal gains. To truly understand political polarization, we must examine data collected through a variety of means, the effects of rapidly changing technology, and observe what techniques are used to create such a polarized political system.
Walmart can be studied using structure functional theory and social conflict theories. Social functional theory is the relationships among parts of society and how these parts are functional(have beneficial consequences) or dysfunctional (have negative consequences. Most Americans today love to shop at Walmart because they continue to give consumers the best prices on over 120,000 products and are one stop shopping.
Numerous cases in history show that identification with a particular group can lead to dreadful outcomes. Together, with historical evidence, classic psychological studies tell a very powerful story. Decent people can take on oppressive roles and succumb to oppressive leaders. However, people often resist tyranny, and their resistance tends to be most effective when it is collective.
In attempts to truthfully learn from our past and make progress towards a peaceful world with equality for all, the topic of war, and the effects of war, is an importance issue. Many people believe that war, although obviously destructive, does lead to social cohesion within the particular nation-state at war. The Senate of Canada defines social cohesion as the capacity of citizens living under different social or economic circumstances to live together in harmony, with a sense of mutual commitment. (Culturelink, par. 2) The idea that war leads to social cohesion is based upon the assumption that during a time of crisis, such as a war, people will come together out of the necessity to survive. This belief that the masses unite, neglecting prior dispositions towards one another while opposing a common enemy, has been fairly prominent throughout history. The Second World War, the Cold War, and the Gulf War will be used as examples to research the assumption that social cohesion is a result of warfare. I will argue that warfare, opposed to popular belief, causes large-scale discrimination, which in turn creates social division, not cohesion. Once an understanding of the discriminatory effects war causes is expressed, the backbone derived from the research is that we must valiantly oppose military action to uphold our freedom and equality for all, rather than trying to fight for freedom.
James Wilson’s article, “How Divided are We?”, attempts to convince the reader that there is polarization (a culture war) in the United States. Wilson does not define polarization by partisan disagreements solely, rather as “an intense commitment to a candidate, a culture, or an ideology that sets people in one group definitively apart from people in another, rival group” (Canon 205). This polarization stretches to the extent that one group’s set of beliefs is totally correct and the rival is wholly wrong (Canon 206). Wilson provides three chief factors for the growth of polarization...
Did you know that in 2014, shoplifting and worker’s theft cost the retail industry a loss of thirty-two billion dollars (Wahba, 2015)? According Wahba “a common misperception about shoplifting is that retailers can ‘afford’ the loss of a candy bar or a pair of jeans” (2015). This type of reasoning certainly does make more sense when explained through the context of a criminological theory. For example according to the Rational Choice theory individuals weigh the costs and benefits associated with a criminal and or deviant act and then make a conscious choice. Other criminological theories explain criminal and deviant behavior using a biological, psychological, social, conflict, or multifactor component. Taking that into consideration in this
Political Divide in the United States The political divide in the United States is very bad. The two main political parties are the democrats and the republicans. The two parties dislike each other and each other's views. Abortion is something that has been talked about a lot, some people find it good and others find it as a bad thing. Health care is another issue that is controversial. Another big issue is illegal immigration. The death penalty and euthanasia are also reasons the government is divided. The topic of the right to bear arms is also very controversial, especially with all the murders and riots going on. Global warming, even though it does not seem very political, is a topic that comes up a lot in political speeches and events. And lastly, the separation of church and state is another topic that gets in heated discussions in politics. Not all of these seem like they are political, but they have been made into be, even though they should not have, the United States is divided over them. The political parties have caused the country to be divided. Democrats and Republicans, also known as liberals and conservatives, most people do
Society today is split in many different ways: the smart and the dumb, the pretty and the ugly, the popular and the awkward, and of course the rich and the poor. This key difference has led to many areas of conflict among the population. The rich and the poor often have different views on issues, and have different problems within their lives. Moral decay and materialism are two issues prevalent among the wealthy, while things such as socio-economic class conflict and the American dream may be more important to those without money. Ethics and responsibilities are an area of thought for both classes, with noblesse oblige leaning more towards the wealthy.
“We all fight on two fronts, the one facing the enemy, the other facing what we do to the enemy” (Boyden 199).
In the 1920fs, because of the separation of the rich and the poor, there were separate social classes and with that came conflict between the classes.
Experiencing incivility in today’s society is a relatively common occurrence. When faced with it, most people tend to try to just shrug it off, not taking too much offense to it, and definitely not confronting the problem. Although this may not seem like too much of an issue, studies have shown that incivility causes a variety of individual, social, and organizational problems.
Discuss in detail the three (3) major assumptions of Conflict Theory. In light of these assumptions, how do conflict theorists view stratification based on social class in society. Include in your discussion 2 specific examples to support the conflict view.
...ment and the people, more Americans can see the equality promised them: equality of opportunity. Only through community, meaning effort from both citizens and government, can inequality be resolved. No one-sided approach can rectify a situation that envelops all of society. Government must set aside partisanship in order to produce targeted legislation that addresses the declining transportation, education, and economic infrastructure. Meanwhile, the community must realign their ideals and realize that together these problems can be solved. However, as long as materialism and overt individualism dominate the community and dysfunction and gridlock have a foothold in government, the schism between rich and poor will continue to grow. The two sides will “live increasingly separate lives” (Sandel), and the goal of economic equality slips father and farther from repair.
Throughout all the history of society people who wanted to become significant and influence different process, had to struggle to achieve their aim. It is possible to say that it is the universal law according to which the world is organized. Rivalry is a phenomenon which helps to regulate the functioning of any society or community. Due to its existence only the people who are needed at the current stage of development of society, will be able to become significant and influence some processes. That is why, to win the rivalry people try to develop different skills which will be able to help them. Finally, all these efforts are devoted to the attempts to become successful. It is the main notion which influences the life of a person greatly Success has always been the index which determined the position of a person in society. Modern world can be characterized by the great level of rivalry, that is why, nowadays the issue of success is extremely important, though its components can be rather different.