Polarization of US politics – part 1
I am a fan of progress. Most of the time, change is good, normal, and healthy. However the trend in the US towards increasingly polarised politics and opinion is, in my view, none of those things.
Apart from a brief period after September 11, 2001, Americans have been inexorably moving away from the center and from each other – both figuratively and literally – since the Carter administration.
As much as the trend is discouraging, some of the reasons for this shift are actually quite interesting.
A recent article in the Economist magazine (subscription required) described the shift in physical terms. As Americans move around, they are naturally drawn to areas that feel ‘comfortable’ to them. Over the last 20 years, this has resulted in liberals tending to live where other liberals live, and conservatives likewise. For example, if you work in Washington DC and are liberal, you tend to live in Maryland. Conservatives working in DC tend to live in northern Virginia. In Texas, Austin is a kind of liberal enclave, with some areas of the city resembling Berkeley. Move a little north or south of Austin, and you are in solid red state territory. One result of this physical split is that increasingly conservatives only interact with other conservatives, and liberals the same. There is less and less political discussion amongst friends who have different opinions. And quite naturally, opinions on both sides tend to become both exaggerated and deep seated.
Which begs the question: When was the last time you had a political conversation with someone who disagreed with you? If it’s been a while, might be a good time to have a civil conversation with someone from the other side of the spectrum.
