The Pros And Cons Of Party Polarization

America is often described as a place of endless opportunity, somewhere dreams actually come to life. Over the centuries the United States has nurtured nearly every nationality in the world. However, due to the growing population of citizens and the lack of empathy, crime rates are on the rise, specifically those that devastate communities and shock the world. Seen as the world’s leading figure in democracy, the United States is suffering from mass violence due to party polarization and irresponsible government officials.
Party polarization is commonly viewed as a dividing factor in the United States government and is the root cause of many Congressional issues, such as the inability to pass legislation quickly. This social phenomenon arises

when members of society have a set of beliefs that strongly adheres to one political party’s ideology and hold a level of distrust of the other political party. For example, in a study conducted by Dylan Minor in 2015, summarized by Roberta Holland, they survey groups of people to test whether it is belief or taste that drives people to trust others who belong in a different political party.

Minor comes to the conclusion that if one participant shares the same beliefs as another, they are more likely to trust them. Faith in the other political party is important when it comes time for elections because the officials who are voted into office dictate what path the government will move toward. The less likely an electorate trusts a candidate from the other party, the likelier they will vote for a candidate who holds more extreme beliefs from their party. From that point forward, compromise in Congress is almost impossible to reach, limiting the amount of work they are able to get done. For instance, in the aftermath of an act of mass violence

there is typically a large public outcry for change, whether it be for gun control or stricter travel security. Because of this deadlock in passing legislation, rarely anything is done in Congress. Furthermore, this delay in introducing new laws allows for even more acts of mass violence to occur in the country without an end point in sight. Party polarization leads to a strong sense of partisanship throughout the whole country, hindering Congress’ ability to work efficiently, therefore threatening the lives of its citizens.
The three branches of the United States government are equally important, but the branch most reflective of the American public is the legislative branch.

There are two main theories of how legislators should represent their constituents: the delegate representation, where constituents tell the elected official how to vote and what to vote on, and the trustee representation, where the elected official votes according to what they believe to be best for their constituents. While there are still several legislators who practice the delegate theory of representation, many in Congress practice the trustee theory of representation due to the terrifying power of interest groups. These groups consistently donate large sums of money to legislators who vote in their favor, then those same legislators use that money for their campaign funds. The dependency upon interest groups to pay for campaigning, alongside intense partisanship, plays a crucial role in illustrating why there are not as many laws limiting the purchasing of guns, weapons of mass destruction, or even the consumption of sugar. Furthermore, the act of gerrymandering makes it even more difficult for Congress to pass any new legislation. Congressional districts are redrawn to accurately portray the current population of people living in a specific area based off the most recent census. The states each have different legal measurements and restrictions for redrawing congressional district lines, as outlined in their state

constitution, however, a large majority of the time the lines will be redrawn in favor of the majority party of the state legislature, giving one party a greater advantage than the other (“Who Draws the Maps?”). Gerrymandering is a practice that pervades both major political parties in America. It creates an immense balance in the government because it gives the majority party in the state the opportunity to elect more members of their party into office and to pass legislation that benefits their agenda. Because of this, both sides of the political spectrum distrust each other more, leading to a more polarized party system.
Although the United States is a world superpower and a protector of democracy, the government is failing to protect its citizens from mass violence. Through an intense ideological divide between political parties and legislators who are motivated by their own goals, mass death of American citizens is allowed to continue.