Kerby Anderson

In an earlier commentary, I talked about how Dennis Prager argues that we are in the midst of a type of civil war. He believes the country is as divided as the real Civil War that divided states. David French argues that we aren’t really in a civil war but are certainly drifting toward divorce in this country. I will leave for another day a discussion of this intramural debate about divisions in this country. They both acknowledge the deep divisions America that keep growing larger. David French says that, “Americans tend to belong to their political ‘tribe’ not so much because they love its ideas but rather because they despise their opponents.” He provides some graphs that visually show the ways Republicans and Democrats view each other. Republicans see Democrats as close-minded. Democrats see Republicans as close-minded. The only real difference in the two graphs is the fact that “Republicans view Democrats as more immoral, while Democrats view Republicans as more dishonest.” Why are the divisions getting worse? One reason is The Big Sort. I’ve talked about this in previous commentaries. Americans are more and more living in areas of the country with people very much like them. Twenty-five years ago, about a third (38%) lived in landslide counties (where candidates won by more than twenty percent). Today six in ten (60%) live in landslide counties. Another reason is media sorting. We listen to radio programs and watch TV programs that reinforce our beliefs. We visit websites that promote our point of view. The Internet and our smart phones could be used to bring us together. Instead, they are mostly used to keep us apart because we sort ourselves into various tribes. This is why we now see the politicization of just about everything. Politics intrudes into the political arena but into the entertainment arena and even into sports. That’s what happens because we are drifting toward divorce.