Quote:
Originally posted by USA Is Doomed
the USA has very deep idiological divisions - would you agree?
can you see those divisions getting narrower or wider?
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They are much narrower than they used to be. Do you think there are more or less ideological differences in a comparison of 2003 America and 1863 Civil-War America? Hell, there are less differences today than in 1973 America. Then, there was a much greater divide between conservative and liberal ideas. I think much of the low voter turn-out among Democrats the past 30 years is that many of their key ideas such as increased civil rights have occured and that attitudes have become more homogenous as a result. There's less to debate.
Most Americans think of their government as being essentially invisible and having no effect on their day-to-day lives. In the US, our biggest differences now are what our favorite football team is and whether the Big 10 is better than the SEC football conference.
If there is a widening gap, when do you think it narrower? What time would anyone wish to return to? When women couldn't vote? When there were jewish quotes in the universities? When blacks were enslaved or couldn't go to "white schools". The battles of liberal democracy are being won.
The Republican and Democratic parties are more similar to each other today than they were 100 years ago.