A Country Divided: Red vs. Blue

Political culture can be defined as a common set of standards or beliefs a country has, but this political culture does not always agree.  Political culture can be defined as either conflictual or consensual.  Consensual political culture generally agrees on most decisions and while there are still arguments there is support from all groups with major decisions.  However, conflictual political culture has vast differences between groups and they typically disagree on decisions.  There is a lot of arguments in conflictual political culture.  Over time America's political culture has become more and more conflictual.  The differences between each party have only grown over time which has caused some problems in things such as electing politicians, opinions of people in different groups, and decisions on political issues.

In America, people pride themselves on the freedom to vote and be involved in the government.  Everyone has a right to their own opinion, but at what cost?  The nation is divided by colors- red vs blue states.  Based on the color of a state determines who that state will generally vote for.  Blue states are democratic and red states are republican, however, some states are swing states, meaning they don't have a definite color.  This has caused some big issues when it is time to vote for a president or a senator.  During the 2016 presidential race, it was Hilary vs Trump.  Looking at the image above, it is evident that the map is a majority red.  President Trump ended up winning the race with a final score of 306 to 232.  But what about all the blue states that now have a Republican president?  Trump has the highest disapproval rating of any president in his second year as president.  There have been major protests and difficulties as a result.  Republicans are all very happy that they have a Republican president but some Democrats are outraged.  There is a huge rift between parties which can only grow with time.  

The opinions people have on red and blue states is also detrimental to the possibility of compromise and agreement between parties.  No one from either color is interested in learning about the other and instead, chooses to believe stereotypes to fuel their differences.  In the article, One Nation, Slightly Divisible, by David Brooks, he draws attention to the differences in beliefs from a red to a blue state.  The two locations he talks about are Montgomery County, which is democratic and Franklin County, which is republican.  "In Montgomery County 60 percent of the population is white, 15 percent is black, 12 percent is Hispanic, and 11 percent is Asian.  In Franklin County 95 percent of the population is white."  Blue staters use this information to support their idea that red states are "Racist and homophobic."  Democrats value equality more than a Republican and use diversity statistics to show the difference between the two groups.  If blue states are more diverse then they have to be more accepting, don't they?  Each group has their own set of beliefs and they aren't willing to look past them.  They use stereotypes to justify their thinking about the other group which only farther separates America as a country.

America was founded on the idea that factions will be created and in order for the government to function, different factions must compromise.  But the differences between factions are so huge that sometimes compromise isn't an option.  In the video, Crossfire: The great divide- red vs. blue states (part 1/3), Pat Quinn, a Democratic governor in Illinois debates with Rick Perry, the Republican governor of Texas about raising the minimum wage.  Each governor has a different set of ideals and cannot come to an agreement.  Quinn claims that parents must be able to live off minimum wage and support a family, but Perry claims that will only harm small business owners.  There is really no room for compromise because each wants what is best for their state.  If this was a consensual government then at least a compromise would be attainable.  The country is unable to efficiently function because it cannot make decisions.  Both men strongly believe in their views and are not willing to change them, just like America's red and blue states.

Political culture in America is conflictual because of the varying beliefs from citizen to citizen.  Many disagreements have occurred and many more will arise.  I completely agree with Caiden and his argument that America would rather fight with itself than compromise.  The differences from party to party are too big for people to agree.  America challenges every decision that is made, thus a very conflictual nation.