It’s no secret that “Republicans and Democrats are
more divided along ideological lines – and partisan aversion is deeper and more
extensive – than at any point in the last two decades.” A recent Pew Research Center survey of 10,000 adults nationwide finds that these divisions are
greatest among those who are the most engaged and active in the political
process. Would you
be surprised to learn that these trends manifest themselves in a
variety of ways, both in politics and in our everyday lives.
Overall, most Americans do not have uniformly
conservative or liberal views. Most Americans do not see either party as a
threat to the nation. The majority of Americans believe that their
representatives in government should meet half way to resolve contentious
disputes rather than holding out for more of what they want. The Pew Research Center study finds that one
of the real reason for the gridlock in
Washington is that “many of those in the center remain on the edges of the
political playing field, relatively distant and disengaged, while the most
ideologically oriented and politically rancorous Americans make their voices
heard through greater participation in every stage of the political process.”
According to study findings, partisan politics and polarization impedes our ability to progress.
Animosity between these “engaged” Democrats and “engaged” Republicans continues
to increase substantially. The negative
view of the opposite party has more than doubled since 1994. Thirty eight
percent of Democrats have “very unfavorable” views of Republicans, while forty
three percent of Republicans have “very unfavorable” views of Democrats. Thirty
six per cent of Republicans and twenty seven per cent of Democrats believe the
opposing party’s policies “are so misguided that they threaten the nation’s
well-being.”
It may surprise you to find that polarization begins
at home and that most ardent liberals and conservatives live very different
lives. The study notes that the specific preferences of each group vary
drastically. One interesting finding is that conservatives would rather live in
large houses in small towns and rural areas — ideally among people of the same
religious faith — while liberals opt for smaller houses and walkable
communities in cities, preferably with a mix of different races and
ethnicities. And sizable minorities of both groups say they’d be dismayed if
someone from the “other side” were to marry into their family. Those findings, and others in the Pew Research
report, illustrate how ideological and partisan loyalties can both reflect and
reshape Americans’ everyday lives.
According to the report, people with consistently
conservative views overwhelmingly favor small towns and rural areas as places
to live: 41% say they’d live in a rural area if they could live anywhere in the
U.S., while 35% pick a small town. Conversely, 46% of people with consistently
liberal views say they prefer to live in cities. (About two-in-ten of those in
every category choose the suburbs.)
And when given the choice, three-quarters of
consistent conservatives say they’d prefer to live in a community of larger
houses with more space between them, even if that means having to drive to
shops, restaurants and other amenities. Consistent liberals were almost exactly
the opposite: 77% said they prefer denser communities where amenities were in
walking distance, even if that meant living in smaller houses. (Speaking of
amenities, 73% of consistent liberals said being near art museums and theaters
was important, versus just 23% of consistent conservatives.) Fully half of consistent conservatives, and 35% of
consistent liberals, say it’s important to live in a place where most people
share their political views.
Some researchers have, in fact, found evidence
that such preferences factor into where Americans decide to move. A 2013 paper published in the “Annals of the
Association of American Geographers,” for instance, analyzed millions of voter
files from 2004, 2006 and 2008 from seven states, identifying people who
relocated within that time span. The researchers concluded that, while jobs and
family concerns are the most important factors in deciding where and whether to
move, “Republican migrants show a preference for moving to areas that are even
more Republican,” and “Democrats display a similar preference for their own,
though the tendency is not as strong.” The researchers concluded that
“[w]hether the role of partisanship is central or ancillary, if it is part of
the decision process, it has the potential to recast the political landscape of
the United States.”
How about you? Do you find yourself gritting your teeth when listening to your in-laws’ political views? Do you feel like a conservative island in a deep blue sea, or vice versa? Do neighborhood barbecues devolve into partisan condiment-flinging? Tell us how political polarization — yours or others’ — affects the way you live.
Sources:
Political Polarization in the American Public, Pew Research Center Study
Voter Migration and the Geographic Sorting of the American Electorate, Taylor and Francis Online
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