Monday, August 29, 2016

Wisconsin: A Proving Ground for Divisiveness

A letter to the editor of the Green Bay press Gazette complains that Scott Walker is "the most divisive" governor. Meanwhile, on the national level it is quite common to see the same complaint leveled against President Obama.

Here's a thought: Maybe it's not Walker OR Obama who are divisive. Maybe it's US.

This election year has shown that we, the American people, have hardened our political positions further than any time in living memory. The animosity between people on the left and on the right is higher than the animosity between people of multiple races or religions. Polls are clearly showing a shrinkage in the number of "Independents", the people who are not committed to either party or ideology. 

When half of America hates the other half (and I don't think I'm overstating that), it will always look like our leaders are "divisive". If we, the people, continue down this path, we will lose our ability to govern ourselves. There are really only two forms of government: authoritarian and democratic. When the majority of the people does not trust "the people", democracy fails.

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