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Posted On: 05/23/2020 9:14:44 AM
Post# of 27274

Can the United States Become More United Again?
If there is hope for Americans to move forward together as a country, it lies in the promise that democracy can bring those from different cultures and disparate viewpoints to the same table where they can work collaboratively based on a larger shared identity and the greater common good. Much of what we know, or think we know, about political polarization is based on polls and surveys that force respondents into dichotomous choices that may fail to capture the complexity of how people actually feel. In reality, many partisans have more nuanced views than one might assume, just as apparent “moderates” might have extreme opinions that are inconsistent with a unified party platform and therefore "cancel each other out" (e.g. “conservatives” who are “pro-choice”).
If there is hope for Americans to move forward together as a country, it lies in the promise that democracy can bring those from different cultures and disparate viewpoints to the same table where they can work collaboratively based on a larger shared identity and the greater common good. Much of what we know, or think we know, about political polarization is based on polls and surveys that force respondents into dichotomous choices that may fail to capture the complexity of how people actually feel. In reality, many partisans have more nuanced views than one might assume, just as apparent “moderates” might have extreme opinions that are inconsistent with a unified party platform and therefore "cancel each other out" (e.g. “conservatives” who are “pro-choice”).

