Paper #1 Tiffany
I feel that the most significant factor that determines if a person is a Republican or Democratic is how their family members and friends vote. I think that most people do not think for themselves. Therefore, they are following the decisions that their family and friends make. Some also do not want to feel like the oddball. So again, they follow and vote like their fellow friends and family members. Kenworthy (2019) states that most people like to have the same political views as their neighbors (para.36). US History (2021) states that a person’s personal religious preferences, gender, and the region they live in also may play a factor in someone’s political decisions (para.1). Another reason is the political choices that each party makes or feels will be good for the country. Individuals will get mad or disagree with what a politician will say or do, so they will switch their political party. For example, the Republican Party is considered pro-life. Many think that the Democratic Party is all for abortions. If they disapprove of abortion, they will vote Republican. The Democratic Party is not for abortions. They feel that it is a women’s choice and right to choose what she wants to do with her body. Many people will try to turn and slander that statement to make it seem like Democratic want women to have abortions which is not valid.
We must stop blaming each party, which is different from our own, for every problem in this country. The issues in this country affect every Republican as well as every Democratic, not just one party but both. I feel that if everyone works together instead of trying to tear down the other party, we could accomplish so much and make this country truly great. That also means that everyone needs to acknowledge that there is still racism in this country that surrounds each of us. Some are so blind and say, It’s 2021 racism is dead, which is not correct. We must first acknowledge that it still exists and take steps to abolish it.
References
Kenworthy, L. (2019, December). Is America too polarized? Lane Kenworthy. https://lanekenworthy.net/political-polarization/.
US History. (2021). What Factors Shape Political Attitudes? ushistory.org. https://www.ushistory.org/gov/4b.asp.
Paper #2 John
Factors such as political attitude, as well as regional, gender, and racial gender differences have been responsible for the Red and Blue America. More specifically, conservatives and democrats have always maintained specific political attitudes on different social issues (Hill, 2017). Furthermore, most of the voters have portrayed their allegiance to the partisan stereotypes (Goggin et al., 2019). As a result, most of them are hesitant to adopt a new perspective of any contemporary events and embrace a suitable perception of reality. In the 1960s, social divisions emerged to the Vietnam War and other issues that the US government had ignored at that specific moment (Schultz, 2013). Besides that, civilians had noticed that they had a democratic right to make informed decisions without relying on the government or even other partisan ideologies. Conservatives are always individuals who want the America to maintain its identity and ignore any issues that minorities have raised. However, women, ethnic and racial minorities have believed that democrats are most likely to acknowledge their interests and help them in exploring better solutions that they need.
As a nation, we need to prioritize equal and sustainable economic development in the Red and Blue states. Evidently, the problem has escalated due to economic differences, which have led to some groups believing that the federal government has ignored their interests. In this regard, most leaders usually depend on these underlying issues that to get vast support in their bid for different political seats. Hence, the execution of sustainable economic development can play an important part in reducing the division that the country has encountered in recent years. The solution will also reduce the issue of social stratification, which has nurtured hatred and animosity between different classes who want to benefit from the national cake, but they believe only a specific group is taking everything.
References
Goggin, S. N., Henderson, J. A., & Theodoridis, A. G. (2019). What goes with red and blue? Mapping partisan and ideological associations in the minds of voters. Political Behavior, 42(4), 985-1013.
Hill, R. W. (2017). Red America, Blue America: A country (campus) very much divided. Academic Leader, 158, 4.
Schultz, K. M. (2013). HIST, volume 2: US history since 1865. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
