The political parties and their supporters have become increasingly polarized. A government system designed to provide a separation of power and checks and balances has been perverted by this polarization into an almost completely dysfunctional system. As soon as President Obama was elected (eight years ago), the Republican Party and Republican members of Congress vowed to oppose every measure he put forward. On more than one occasion the government of the most powerful nation on earth almost ground to a halt because of a failure to approve the budget necessary to keep it running.
Conditions have worsened in recent months and it is not unusual to read of Americans who believe the only solution is to divide the country in two, with Republicans living in one portion and Democrats in the other. This would not be a new civil war but a very uncivil bisection of a nation.
Electoral Boundaries Reinforce Divisions
In my view a primary cause of this sad state of affairs is the way in which the boundaries of the country’s electoral districts are drawn (and redrawn). It is necessary to review and adjust these boundaries on a regular basis to take into account population changes and to ensure approximately equal numbers in each electoral district (to maintain the principle of representation by population). In almost every other democratic nation in the world, this task is handled by independent commissions. But in the United States, electoral boundaries are adjusted by the political party that controls each state government. Both Democrats and Republicans shamelessly abuse their powers by drawing boundaries that will encompass as many of their own supporters as possible, thereby assuring continued election success.
As a result of this electoral gerrymandering (as it is often called), there is very little reason for a candidate for office to look for common ground or to address issues that might appeal to a broad cross section of the populace. Indeed, in most ridings there isn’t a broad cross section of populace. Instead, there are mostly Republican or mostly Democrats, depending on which party controlled the redistricting process.
An added problem is that the U.S. primary system reinforces and accentuates the tendency for candidates to move to the extremes rather than to the middle. It is a party’s hard core and most involved members who participate in the selection of a candidate in the primaries. Others, with less strongly held views, tend to pay little attention until an election date draws near. Very committed party supporters are also usually very partisan, which means that those seeking success in the primaries move to the extremes of their particular party.
Civilized Discourse Is Rare
The anonymity often afforded by social media has encouraged the expression of extreme views and the denunciation of those who offer a contrary point of view. One searches in vain for a forum in which calm and reasoned discussion might take place. It is both amusing and depressing to read Pete Hamill’s statement in his 1996 publication Piecework: “On American talk radio, the Legion of the Invincibly Stupid was hammering away at the remnants of our common civility.” The Legion is now larger and louder, given the incivility surrounding the exchange of views in this year’s presidential election.
Rediscovering Shared Views and Values
What makes this whole situation so sad is that Americans have forgotten how much they do have in common. It is likely that very few want to establish a socialist state of the sort found in some of the Scandinavian countries and very few want a totally laizzez-faire system which reverts to the law of the jungle and survival of the fittest. Most Americans, I would suggest, believe in a framework of laws and rules that mitigate the excesses and inequalities inherent in unbridled capitalism and they believe in at least some social supports to assist the less fortunate and help in providing a minimum standard of living for all.
If Americans of different points of view would talk to each other – instead of ignoring or yelling at each other – they might find a good deal of common ground along with the strong patriotism and love of country that they have always exhibited. If political parties searched for ways to collaborate for the good of the country they might discover some ways to serve the public interest by working together instead of always at odds. Tall order though it may be, probably the most effective step that could be taken to break up America’s two solitudes would be to empower independent commissions to establish the boundaries for electoral districts. Logical boundaries that take into account natural features such as rivers and mountains and existing boundaries such as county lines would encompass individuals from both political parties and would, therefore, oblige the parties to look for common ground rather than move to the extremes. As a result, Americans might leave their two solitudes and begin to rediscover their common values.