Sunday, September 21, 2008

Question

So, we've pretty much decided (whether in our own homes through friendly debate/banter or through media interpretation) that this country is ideologically polarized. Here's my query:

What is the crux of this polarization? Clearly Republicans and Democrats look at the same issues in very different ways- this is how we can come up with such very different solutions to the problems that are universally recognized. But what is that one factor that makes such a divisive split?

For example:

What I've heard some people say-
Republicans believe in smaller government, less taxes, strong national security.
Democrats believe in big government, more taxes, weak national security

But this is really too complicated.

What my father always said-
Republicans look out for themselves
Democrats look out for "the little guy" or "the underdog"

Perhaps this is too simplistic?

My belief-
Republicans believe that everyone has the ability to and should pull themselves up by their own bootstraps.
Democrats believe that there are some people who absolutely can not pull themselves up by their own bootstraps.

Perhaps it's futile to figure out exactly where the ideological split is, but I wanted to send this out there to see what y'all thought.

3 comments:

L*I*S*A said...

I find myself in the camp of where-can-I-buy-bootstraps?

sdb said...

What about the paternal vs. maternal viewpoint?

Animal said...

a la: the "bootstrap" issue, I think that Republicans want to believe the world is the way they THINK it ought to be, by their standards...

Democrats are more likely to see the world the way it ACTUALLY is, warts and all, and then try to get rid of as many warts as they can. (And, you know, Compound W costs money.)