Portraying Division
Have you ever been at a family dinner party when someone makes a seemingly harmless and non-controversial comment about education, when suddenly things escalate and before you know it your Uncle Jerry is standing on the table calling dear Aunt Ruth a tax-loving, dirt worshiping, communist thug? Well I have, and trust me: it’s not pleasant. I think we all know someone who is virtually impossible to have a conversation with because of his or her overcharged political batteries. As of late, I have been asking myself; where are they getting all of this contentious political charge? In my mind, the answer has become clear: from the media, more specifically the far left and far right political commentators.
With all of the commotion of the recent Trayvon Martin case and verdict I can’t help but feel that the media has been irresponsible. I feel like the media has tried very hard to create 2 entrenched sides with this case, dividing our country. Fox News Channel host Geraldo Rivera claimed that Martin's "gangsta style clothing" was "as much responsible for Trayvon Martin's death as George Zimmerman was" (Fox & Friends Sunday July 14th 2013)
meanwhile MSNBC's Klein Declares: 'Trayvon Martin Was Not the Violent One That Night” (All In, July 19th 2013)The media has created a controversial dinner discussion for our entire country. While the media is dividing and stirring the pot, we only get more and more angry with one another, meanwhile Fox News and MSNBC are laughing all the way to the bank. 24/7 coverage with commercial breaks every 7 minutes; to the media it is a dream come true… for them. For us, it only creates division and partisanship.
Now, as I get into this, I want to be very clear on a few things. I have no problem with differing opinions, I think it is great to be well informed and I support Freedom of Speech. I guess what I am trying to say is that I don’t really have a problem with Rush Limbaugh or Chris Mathews having their own opinions, but I do have a problem with how they voice these opinions. It is how these political commentators are voicing their opinion that is hurting our country. I think almost every American can agree that be unified as a country is a good thing. Well, if we all know that unity is a good thing then why do we get wrapped up in these divisive forms of entertainment? I use the word “entertainment” intentionally.
Political entertainment is everywhere, the TV in the hospital and the auto shop. The radio the guy is listening to on the train ride home. I personally don’t consider myself terribly interested in politics so I don’t go out looking for Rush Limbaugh or Keith Olbermann, and even without actively seeking it out, you are destined to hear or see the political entertainment somewhere.
If your only source of information was TV and Radio, then you might think that our country is more polarized than Civil War times, but if you were to go out and talk with people in your community I think you would be more surprised at how agreeable people on both sides are.
President Jimmy Carter recently said, "This is the most polarized country and the most partisan divide that we have ever seen." (NBC Nightly News, Sept 21st 2010) Many Americans agree.Others have a different view. In his 2004 Democratic National Convention speech, Barack Obama said, "There is not a liberal America and a conservative America — there is the United States of America." (Obama, Par. 35) The differing opinions between Carter and Obama illustrate the various views of two political figures that are arguably on the “same side.”
My research supports the latter point of view: Americans are not nearly so polarized as most people believe.
So what? Aren't people entitled to their own perceptions about American polarization? What does it matter if strong partisans with extreme attitudes see Americans as more polarized? It matters for two reasons. One is that seeing America as polarized is predictive of voting intentions and campaign involvement such as making donations. The data show that individuals who were strong partisans and hold extreme attitudes were more likely to vote and be politically active partly because they saw America as polarized.
The second reason is simply that the perception is wrong. Americans are not nearly so polarized as most people believe. The average difference in attitudes between Democrats and Republicans is about 0.75. So people overestimate the partisan divide at all levels of partisanship and at all levels of attitude extremity.
Bernard Baruch said, "Every man has a right to his own opinion, but no man has a right to be wrong in his facts." The data strongly suggest that, when it comes to polarization among everyday Americans, the facts prove most of us are wrong, and that we see America as more divided than it is
Many people feel that these political commentators are misrepresenting their sides. Recently a conservative journalist David Frum talked of his feelings on the far right political commentators:
In the days since I stumbled into this controversy, I've received a great deal of e-mail. (Most of it on days when Levin or Hannity or Hugh Hewitt or Limbaugh himself has had something especially disobliging to say about me.) Most of these e-mails say some version of the same thing: if you don't agree with Rush, quit calling yourself a conservative and get out of the Republican Party. There's the perfect culmination of the outlook Rush Limbaugh has taught his fans and followers: we want to transform the party of Lincoln, Eisenhower and Reagan into a party of unanimous dittoheads—and we don't care how much the party has to shrink to do it. That's not the language of politics. It's the language of a cult.
That being said, there are still people like Uncle Jerry who let Glenn Beck do all the thinking. The far left and far right commentators teach many things, however tolerance is rarely one of them, especially tolerance of those with opposing political views. Walls are being built here. Walls built of alarmism, conspiracies, and intolerance. Franes Kissling talked of the importance of breaking down these walls and meeting in the middle:
The need to approach others with enthusiasm for difference is absolutely critical to any change. You know . . . I’m the toughest of fighters. And you know I love a good fight. And I love to win. But I think what I have learned is that you have got to approach differences with this notion that there is good in the other. And that if we can’t figure out how to do that and if there isn’t the crack in the middle where there are some people on both sides who absolutely refuse to see the other as evil, this is going to continue
If unity is our greatest strength then these political commentators are hurting our country. They hurt our country by not only portraying it as more divided than it actually, but by being increasingly intolerant of opposing views and divisive in expressing their own views.
Have you ever been at a family dinner party when someone makes a seemingly harmless and non-controversial comment about education, when suddenly things escalate and before you know it your Uncle Jerry is standing on the table calling dear Aunt Ruth a tax-loving, dirt worshiping, communist thug? Well I have, and trust me: it’s not pleasant. I think we all know someone who is virtually impossible to have a conversation with because of his or her overcharged political batteries. As of late, I have been asking myself; where are they getting all of this contentious political charge? In my mind, the answer has become clear: from the media, more specifically the far left and far right political commentators.
With all of the commotion of the recent Trayvon Martin case and verdict I can’t help but feel that the media has been irresponsible. I feel like the media has tried very hard to create 2 entrenched sides with this case, dividing our country. Fox News Channel host Geraldo Rivera claimed that Martin's "gangsta style clothing" was "as much responsible for Trayvon Martin's death as George Zimmerman was" (Fox & Friends Sunday July 14th 2013)
meanwhile MSNBC's Klein Declares: 'Trayvon Martin Was Not the Violent One That Night” (All In, July 19th 2013)The media has created a controversial dinner discussion for our entire country. While the media is dividing and stirring the pot, we only get more and more angry with one another, meanwhile Fox News and MSNBC are laughing all the way to the bank. 24/7 coverage with commercial breaks every 7 minutes; to the media it is a dream come true… for them. For us, it only creates division and partisanship.
Now, as I get into this, I want to be very clear on a few things. I have no problem with differing opinions, I think it is great to be well informed and I support Freedom of Speech. I guess what I am trying to say is that I don’t really have a problem with Rush Limbaugh or Chris Mathews having their own opinions, but I do have a problem with how they voice these opinions. It is how these political commentators are voicing their opinion that is hurting our country. I think almost every American can agree that be unified as a country is a good thing. Well, if we all know that unity is a good thing then why do we get wrapped up in these divisive forms of entertainment? I use the word “entertainment” intentionally.
Political entertainment is everywhere, the TV in the hospital and the auto shop. The radio the guy is listening to on the train ride home. I personally don’t consider myself terribly interested in politics so I don’t go out looking for Rush Limbaugh or Keith Olbermann, and even without actively seeking it out, you are destined to hear or see the political entertainment somewhere.
If your only source of information was TV and Radio, then you might think that our country is more polarized than Civil War times, but if you were to go out and talk with people in your community I think you would be more surprised at how agreeable people on both sides are.
President Jimmy Carter recently said, "This is the most polarized country and the most partisan divide that we have ever seen." (NBC Nightly News, Sept 21st 2010) Many Americans agree.Others have a different view. In his 2004 Democratic National Convention speech, Barack Obama said, "There is not a liberal America and a conservative America — there is the United States of America." (Obama, Par. 35) The differing opinions between Carter and Obama illustrate the various views of two political figures that are arguably on the “same side.”
My research supports the latter point of view: Americans are not nearly so polarized as most people believe.
So what? Aren't people entitled to their own perceptions about American polarization? What does it matter if strong partisans with extreme attitudes see Americans as more polarized? It matters for two reasons. One is that seeing America as polarized is predictive of voting intentions and campaign involvement such as making donations. The data show that individuals who were strong partisans and hold extreme attitudes were more likely to vote and be politically active partly because they saw America as polarized.
The second reason is simply that the perception is wrong. Americans are not nearly so polarized as most people believe. The average difference in attitudes between Democrats and Republicans is about 0.75. So people overestimate the partisan divide at all levels of partisanship and at all levels of attitude extremity.
Bernard Baruch said, "Every man has a right to his own opinion, but no man has a right to be wrong in his facts." The data strongly suggest that, when it comes to polarization among everyday Americans, the facts prove most of us are wrong, and that we see America as more divided than it is
Many people feel that these political commentators are misrepresenting their sides. Recently a conservative journalist David Frum talked of his feelings on the far right political commentators:
In the days since I stumbled into this controversy, I've received a great deal of e-mail. (Most of it on days when Levin or Hannity or Hugh Hewitt or Limbaugh himself has had something especially disobliging to say about me.) Most of these e-mails say some version of the same thing: if you don't agree with Rush, quit calling yourself a conservative and get out of the Republican Party. There's the perfect culmination of the outlook Rush Limbaugh has taught his fans and followers: we want to transform the party of Lincoln, Eisenhower and Reagan into a party of unanimous dittoheads—and we don't care how much the party has to shrink to do it. That's not the language of politics. It's the language of a cult.
That being said, there are still people like Uncle Jerry who let Glenn Beck do all the thinking. The far left and far right commentators teach many things, however tolerance is rarely one of them, especially tolerance of those with opposing political views. Walls are being built here. Walls built of alarmism, conspiracies, and intolerance. Franes Kissling talked of the importance of breaking down these walls and meeting in the middle:
The need to approach others with enthusiasm for difference is absolutely critical to any change. You know . . . I’m the toughest of fighters. And you know I love a good fight. And I love to win. But I think what I have learned is that you have got to approach differences with this notion that there is good in the other. And that if we can’t figure out how to do that and if there isn’t the crack in the middle where there are some people on both sides who absolutely refuse to see the other as evil, this is going to continue
If unity is our greatest strength then these political commentators are hurting our country. They hurt our country by not only portraying it as more divided than it actually, but by being increasingly intolerant of opposing views and divisive in expressing their own views.