Myth Of A Polarized America Analysis

Words: 921
Pages: 4

Dating back to the 1920’s, urban and rural conflicting U.S American values became apparent regarding those who were considered conservative or traditionalist and those considered liberal or progressive. Culture shifts and modernizing trends began to culminate U.S American traditions and altered the social zeitgeist. But, is this necessarily true? The media became an outlet or a source that introduced an existence (or as I should say, falsification) of a moral divide in the nation. Not only is the American culture war is imperceptible, the media fed onto the ideology of a culture war therefore making this theory overly exaggerated and dramatic. It deeply exaggerated this ‘moral divide’ as well as various traditions and values of different Americans. …show more content…
The media presents a gap between issues regarding gun control, abortion, etc. Although, that is not necessarily true. Morris P Fiorina, author of Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized America, takes a different perspective at all angles and tackles the issues at hand. Data from numerous amount of reliable sources show that the United State is not deeply divided or polarized. Those involved in politics or a part of it are more polarized than the public alone considering that they are the ‘leaders’ of the country whom to sort of ‘speak for the country.’ For instance, James Davison Hunter, sociologist and author of Culture War, introduced the clash behaviors of the people and their cultures. Influenced by his book, Pat Buchanan, a politician, declared the myth of a culture war. In a statement made in 1992, Pat Buchanan states: “There is a religious war going on in this country, a cultural war as critical to the kind of nation we shall be as the Cold War itself, for this war is for the soul of America.” From this, the myth of a culture war became a common theme of discussions in U.S politics which lead to the media’s involvement. Political elites are polarized and setting an impact on the people, as if they are representing the country as a whole. Meaning, the people are not polarized with their party but if someone within that party accepts/agree on an …show more content…
Just because we all have different or maybe similar views, doesn't necessarily show that there is a culture war and we are fighting against it. Everyone has disagreements and it doesn't cause much of a ruckus. My friend may be a Republican and I could be a Democrat but that doesn't make me hate her for what she believes in. Some people have a mutual respect for others beliefs. Not everyday you see someone fighting over an issue regarding gay rights, abortion, climate change etc. It may be up to debate, but we aren't at each other's throats. As I stated before, we are entitled to our own opinion and we have the freedom to say or think anything we please (although, some people take advantage of this opportunity.) There is no physical war going on where we are shooting at each other because he is in favor of Trump and I’m in favor of Clinton or involving our religious differences.
The media tends to have selective coverage, hence why there is rarely any good news broadcasted. The media also skews perspective whereas its based on stories rather than statistics, over exaggerating political differences between individuals. To support this conclusion, Fiorina also invalidates the myth of an American culture war. There are many other sources of people who may agree with me and Fiorina as well. Therefore, there is no culture war in the United