2008 Critical Election Paper Update

Hello all, as promised I have uploaded the rubric and some helpful writing tips for your papers. You can be find these items on the  class materials page under political parties, and I highly recommend taking a look (especially at the writing tips).

Also, I was asked by one of you about citing sources, so I thought I would put up a reminder:

• A works cited page is only needed for information or sources gathered from outside of class.
• This means information taken from somewhere other than the 2008 Critical Election Packet.

• Please cite sources for all evidence presented using in-text parenthetical notation. You must cite all evidence used to support your argument including:
• Material from the packet
• Material from websites given to you by me
• Material from websites found by you

An example of parenthetical notation is:

• It has been argued that Mr. Balanda is the coolest teacher in the history of the known world (Parenti, Dias 11).

If you have any questions between now and Thursday please e-mail me, come visit me, or post to the blog. Otherwise, happy researching and writing!

  

Critical Elections: Shifts in Voting History 1952-2012

The New York Times has published an excellent interactive infographic that can help us to examine critical elections. The interactive inforgraphic illustrates how states have shifted between the Republican and Democratic parties over time. Remember, a major factor in a critical election is a change (or a major shift) in the coalitions that support each party. For example, the election of 1968 (and to a lesser extent 1964) has been argued as a critical election, and upon looking at the info-graphic we can see a major shift in the voting trend from the Democratic to the Republican parties in most states (in 1964 the noticeable shift is in the southern states, who voted Republican for the first time since the Civil War).

As for our critical election of 2008, we do see a noticeable shift to the Democratic party from almost every state, and even some states "turning blue" for the first time since the 1960's (Indiana). Is this evidence of critical election? 2012 may give us some answers... 

From The New York Times:
Over the Decades, How States Have Shifted

Daily Show at the Republican National Convention

The Speech:


From The Daily Show 8/31/2012:

Political Parties: Mobilizing Agents Video

Here is the link to the video from the Annenburg Policy Center's Democracy in America. Please make sure that you watch the WHOLE video, answer all the questions and are prepared to discuss your answers in class tomorrow.

http://www.learner.org/courses/democracyinamerica/dia_12/dia_12_video.html

Election Day Turned Election Month? Current Event Post

Click here to view the slideshow

Politicians Being Idiots

One for the Democrats,

And one for the Republicans

Vermin Supreme 2012

Vermin Supreme doesn't want you to vote for him, but he wants to give you a pony. He also brought glitter. This is him at the Lesser-Known Democratic Canidates Presidential Forum in 2012. http://youtu.be/4d_FvgQ1csE

2012 Presidential Polling: NERDS!

From The Daily Show 10/10/12:

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook,Daily Show Video Archive

My Current Event: 2014 Midterm Elections/Polling

So I'm not sure how I would go about sharing a prezi other than just giving everyone the link so there's the link if anyone is curious and wants to look at it.
Prezi

The Evolution of Dad Dancing w/ Jimmy Fallon and Gov. Chris Christie

Thought this was funny, why not post it!? How do you guys feel about the Democratic/ Rebublican Convention dances, are they accurate?

Interesting Video

Hello everybody i came across this video and thought the response of these Harvard students was very interesting. They were asked who they thought posed a bigger threat to world peace: USA or ISIS?Do you think their responses were accurate? Feel free to leave your opinions below

Political Culture

I wish I could be that person in the class to say our nation is consensual, that Red and Blue America aren't as isolated from each other as it seems, but there are reasons why the entire class feels America is conflictual, and I unfortunately feel the same way. Despite my impulse to say America is actually consensual because of the over generalization of both sides of the spectrum, it's apparent that our culture is indeed split as a whole. Whether or not one wants to go as far as to label the two "sides" red and blue America like Brooks and Frank, the 2000 election maps along with the gridlock in Washington in recent years show that we are split as a nation on our political views. Some people like Brooks will go as far as laying out the everyday interests of Red and Blue Americans, like when he says "we sail; they powerboat. We cross-country ski; they snowmobile. We hike; they drive ATVs. We have vineyard tours; they have tractor pulls. When it comes to yard work, they have rider mowers; we have illegal aliens" (Brooks 1). Personally my family doesn't have tractor pulls despite our conservative beliefs nor do we go on vineyard tours due to living in "blue" America. Perhaps putting these stereotypes on the two parties of politics is what is making our country conflictual in the first place. Of course culture plays a major role in ones political beliefs; Susan gave a perfect example in her post explaining how her ethnicity and liberal beliefs contribute to her views of conservatives. For me, growing up in "blue" American society has caused me to develop socially liberal views, while living in a republican town with republican parents has caused me to be fiscally conservative. Political culture is always going to vary in any country, government, etc. As Brooks notes, the people in suburbs tend to have aligned views regardless of where they live, in contrast to the stark differences to those in large cities and rural America, and perhaps this commonality offers hope that we can bridge and moderate the two extremes that America has been perceived to be split into and one day be "consensual."

Political Culture

   I agree with Alyse and many others that america is politically conflictual. Both articles focus on the separation of both red and blue america. But Brooks focuses more on the fact that since we act so differently that we have different opinions on everything. While Franks explains that yes we live in different places but we have the same virtues. Even tho we have the same virtues we go about handling them differently which overall results in most of our conflicts. Franks and Brook do both say that blue america is more elite and materialistic while red america is more of the "foundation of America".  These stereotypes are part of why there is so much conflict in america. The cartoon below shows more of how brooks thinks the differences between blue and red america are.

But this picture shows how Franks thinks the difference between red and blue america is.

I believe that yes blue and red america are different but we do also have many of the same wants and needs. But the way we go about solving the issues is why we can never get anything done in the country.

Political Culture

The political culture of America is definitely conflitual. As stated in both articles America is divided between red and blue states. Red states are defined as more conservative, they are made of the good old-fashioned American. A family man who attends church regularly and can make most of the repairs on his house or car. More importantly though this person is humble, desiring to remain out of conflict as much as possible and is willing to live and die for his country. Blue states are defined as more liberal, with modern Americans more wildly known as "Other America". These people normally live along the coasts and are viewed as more "unobservant, liberation-minded [and] relativistic"(Frank 22). This country is fighting a cultural war and its the hicks verses the hipsters. Everything from our humility to our spending patterns and yes of course our voting patterns are very different! For a moment now let's just think of the sheer numbers. With so many different people that are potentially made up of different backgrounds there is no way that we all agree. In Brooks' article he talks about diversity and how in red America the population is made up of 95% white people but the population in the blue states is only 60% white people while the other 40% is made up of people from African, Hispanic or Asian dissent. This diversity has obvious impacts on us as individuals. For one it makes blue states view themselves as more individual because they aren't part of that big unit community that makes up the red states. "I am special" verses "I am normal". These two different nations are night and day and there is not a shadow of a doubt about it in my mind.

View my video on the culture wars in America:
Culture Wars

Political Culture

By reading both articles by David Brooks and Thomas Frank on political culture, I can safely say that I agree with most people that America is politically conflictual. Brooks, the author of "One Nation, Slightly Divisible", believes that America is no longer one nation with all of the similar ideologies, goals, or interests, but a two nations that classify themselves as Red American and Blue America. On the other hand, Frank, the author of "What's the Matter with Kansas?", believes that there is a divide in political culture in the United States, but that there is not a substantial difference in what people believe in throughout the country. In my opinion the views of these "two different Americas" are so conflictual and different that they are considered to be their own factions. Red America believing that mostly traditional, religious, self disciplined, patriotic ways make the United States function the best while Blue America has a way of believing that being modern, secular. self-expressive, and "non-patriotic" is the best way for America to succeed and function in a time when change, new political ideas, etc  are always present and are being created indefinitely. Along with theses beliefs in these two divided parts of our nation are also general stereotypes that many use to differentiate the two factions. In Red America there are the outdoor guys that "have a gigantic wad of keys hanging from a belt loop, a tape measure strapped to the belt" (Brooks). They are almost always associated as the tough, hard working, homophobic and racist part of America. On the contrary, Blue America is filled with "upper-middle-class towns inhabited by lawyers, doctors, stockbrokers, and establishment journalists" (Brooks). These types of people are widely described as stuck up, self absorbed, educated and rarely ever blatantly show their patriotism. It is very rare that these two groups of people ever come to an agreement when it comes to politics and that is why the United States of America is politically conflictual.

Political culture

I agree with Megan by saying that America is fairly politically conflictual, in our political views. Brooks' view on the great differences between the more largely populated coastal cities and suburbs and the less densely populated South and Midwest through things such as what we wear, our education, and what we value is a great example of how Americans are terribly conflictual. There is very little consensus on how people on the coastal metro areas and the small town conservatives think politically. People on the coasts view the red america as small town hicks who don't like to be told how to shoot their guns and when, while red america views the blue america as a bunch of complicated and arrogant people in sight of personal gain. Frank points out that these republicans tend to be hard headed because of their religious and family beliefs that are helfd closer to them than the government is. Conservatives also belief in a strict interpritation of the bill of rights and any laws that restrict their freedoms, are seen as infringment on their constituitionally goven liberties. One example of this would be environmental laws that restrict car pollution and force people to either buy a new car or put money into a more green engine set up. It is rare that both of these political ideologies compromise, and causes America to be a nation of conflictual arguments with little lee-way between parties.

American Political Culture: Consensual

After reading through both the articles and all of the other blog posts I would have to come to the conclusion that the political culture of America is actually more consensual than conflictual. This is the dissenting opinion as so far pretty much everyone else that has posted has said that America was conflictual.
Generally, the reason seems to be that because we have different opinions we are forced to be conflictual rather than consensual. This has been pointed out time and time again through the evidence of the strong stereotypes presented by Brooks and Frank. There is, however, one major flaw with this idea, and that is that when continuing with that logic the most reasonable conclusion to make is that a consensual political culture is impossible essentially because factions(aka different opinions) exist.This is not true.
Our country isn't completely divided. This is demonstrated when Frank writes about the man in the Newsweek article who essentially said that him and his neighbors voted for Bush in the 2001 election because of their dislike of Wall Street. When I hear about opposition to Wall Street I think Democrat, not Republican. I see the Republican party as the party of the self-interested and greedy Koch brothers. This perfect example displays the delusion almost all Americans have with the political parties. We see these parties as enemies when in reality they aren't. They are two sides of the same coin that believes in democracy, capitalism, and personal liberties. The stereotypes, of people in Red states being "American" while those in the Blue states are snobs, are the very reason why the divide appears to exist. This imaginary divide is propelled even more by the fact that we live in a society based on capitalism, which promotes the mentally of "winners and losers" furthering the idea that one side has to be wrong and one has to be right.
We should all remember that when we looked at the Political Compass, Obama and Romney where in the same sector and not that far apart. They come from two different parties. If American political culture was conflictual then there is no way that is even possible. America isn't divided between "Red states" and "Blue states" it is just one people, with generally fairly similar opinions that are deluded into thinking there is a major divide

Politcal Culture

I agree with Megan by saying that America is fairly politically conflictual. Brooks' idea of the people living in the the middle to southern U.S. thinking that people who live on the East and West coast being liberals and doing nothing all day, but drinking Starbucks and having other people doing the hard work for them is a perfect example of how Americans are conflictual. There is no consensus by any standpoint of how people on the coasts then the people in the central part of America (conservatives). People on the coasts (liberals) believe that conservatives are only uneducated farmers who are predominantly white. Frank also believes that people in the south base their political views off of their traditional values or beliefs and are less likely to have their ideas swayed like the liberals. Conservatives also believe in their religious values which would make them not necessarily go with ideas such as gay marriage and abortion, unlike liberals who have a tendency to agree with allow gay marriage and abortions rights. It is a rarity that both of these two extremes ever meet in the middle, which would make them conflictual because there is little agreement as opposed to a broad consensus. 

Political Culture

I agree with Alyse and basically everyone that the U.S.' political culture is conflictional. Red America and Blue America generally disagree on all issues. Red America is raised to rely on their faith and morals, while Blue America wants change and has almost a completely different view on the world. Their views on social issues are very different. Red America is moralistic with their opinions on abortion and gay marriage. Blue America is realistic. Brooks states in his article the heavy differences between these two faction. People raised in Alabama (because we keep using them as an example) aren't flashy and prefer to be humble. One example is that Red America loves showing their patriotism. In Connecticut (not Wolcott) you're less likely to see people driving around with two American flags on the back of their truck. Blue America is flashy, but doesn't like to show their patriotism. Red America and Blue America are two different lifestyles. Where you live changes your political views and opinions. Frank agrees that there is a divide but they aren't completely different. Some have similar interests. This is true, but overall the two factions have two different lifestyles and therefore, view politics differently.

Political Culture

I agree with Kayla and Zach in their saying that our country is politically conflictual.  The proof for this statement starts with the stereotypes that our country and fellow Americans use for one another.  The coastal liberals regard the middle conservatives as hicks and uneducated farmers and the conservative farmers regard the liberals as something other than Americans.  The way that these two groups view each other is the definition of our division.  In each place there are two different countries as described in Brooks' work, they live different lives and grow up in different ways which is the reason generations now and generations to come will continue to always be drastically different in their ideas on politics.  In a more broad perspective of our political crisis people have to look at the divide and understand that not everyone will have the same opinions and agree on the same topics.  The red states, republicans, and the blue states, democrats, show the division.  The difference in these two states is the way in which they act and the people that live in them.  The maps of the elections are the best examples of the literal separation.  Electoral maps give a representation of which states fall under Republican or Democrat.  What makes many central states Republican is their strong sense of religion and the demographics of where they live (farmland).  Democrats are like the way they are for similar reasons.  The tensions of these two parties are high and they will be for as long as people share different political cultures and ideologies however it is a problem of intellect, not physical battles so we fear nothing from that road.  Although, later on if our country continues to keep on dividing more and more then we may see a problem.  But, all in all our country is politically conflictual because of people sharing different morals and beliefs which influence their political stance.

 

 

Political Culture

   I agree with Alyse and many others by saying that Americas political culture today is very conflictual. Even though Brook's piece on Red America vs. Blue America was a little far fetched in the idea that all republicans are hillbillies and all democrats are Starbucks-loving hipsters, his idea that America basically has two lifestyles is pretty spot on. Red states often have beliefs surrounded around religion and Blue states often just flot around and tend not to revolve their decisions around religion. Frank says that this same divide can be seen at the presidential election of 2000. The easy to see divide between half of America can be seen clearly in the poll of said election. Also, Frank says that Red Americans tend to base their political views off of their morals. As a result of the morals, they usually don't like same sex marriage and abortion. Blue Americans tend to have a more realistic view when it comes to political views. This makes them ok with same sex marriage and supporters of abortion. Even though the divide between the two doesn't go as far as Brooks thinks it does, it does extend pretty far. If someone from one side agrees with another, they'll usually have a variation of what they like that doesn't agree completely with the other person's views. Today in society you can see the divide simply in same sex marriage cases. One side says something and the other says no to their ideas. It's as simple as that.



In this article you can see yet another standpoint on the ongoing divide conversation:http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/12/red_versus_blue_states_a_divide_worth_having.html

Political Culture

I agree with Alyse and everyone else that the United States political culture is very conflictual. Depending on where you live, your lifestyle, your beliefs, and any other factors like this will contribute to your political beliefs. For example, according to the map at the bottom, if you live along the coasts, you have similar thoughts because you may need similar funding for the waters you occupy or trade reasons. If you live in the middle where there is more red than you might have similar beliefs about how the agriculture should be funded or how the inner states have different standards than the coastal states. Your location could be a big deciding factor on how you view your politics and which side of the spectrum you think you belong on. Brooks describes the United States at "Red America" and "Blue America" because our beliefs and lifestyles are so different. You have your self-centered person who drinks Starbucks coffee then your person who has an ugly hairstyle of a mullet. When people are categorized this way, you know there is a problem. Your lifestyles and beliefs set you up for that interpretation along with differences politivcally. With major differences there is bound to be conflictions.

Political Culture

Similar to everyone else's opinion, I also believe American political culture is conflictual. Our society wholly consists of the citizens that compose the different political groups arguing on whose ignorant, one-sided perception of issues is right. Whether one is a democrat or a republican, apparently, signifies much more than if you voted for Gore or Bush, but represents one's lifestyle, according to ideologies such as the latte libel. This states that liberals can be identified by what they drink and eat, emphasizing their arrogance and un-American qualities.  Political beliefs are derived from where one lives, and this has split the nation into two. The clear separation has become "more than just mere voting blocks; they (are) complete sociological profiles, two different Americas at loggerheads with each other" (Frank 14). Red America and blue America have stereotypical, overgeneralized beliefs of the other that they cling to and refuse to believe otherwise. Liberals, particularly democrats, have become the center of degrading polls and discussions, claiming they are not real Americans. If the United States is truly the land of the free where all men are created equal, one's political preferences should not make them less or more American. This opinion that republicans are authentic Americans, who have built this nation and love God rather than themselves, also means that any naturalized citizens aren't Americans. My family is from Afghanistan, and we are all liberals, and from these articles, I have concluded that Frank and Brooks are telling us we are not true Americans, because we support democratic stances. All conservatives are depicted as great and humble hard workers, who value family, God and community. One can only be so humble when all they talk about is how humble they are. Christianity means a lot to red Americans, but Islam has no significance to them and most likely, conveys a reaction of disgust and the belief that all Muslims are terrorists is very popular. It is very clear that I'm a democrat by my perception of republicans, and my opinion is a result of my ethnicity and where I grew up. Both red Americans and blue Americans are ignorant, just on different ends of the spectrum. Our views of one another are similar to how enemies portray each other. The nation is actually "two nations of different faiths. One is observant, tradition-minded, moralistic. The other is unobservant, liberation-minded, relativistic" (Brooks). Due to this part in the country, the government is in a state where no progress is made and this will not change. The only way in which our political culture could be seen as consensual is that we are not currently fighting one another in a civil war.

Political Culture

I agree with Alyse that our political culture, here in America, is conflictual because of the different lifestyles. Brooks points out that a Red American generally attends church more often than Blue American and that Blue Americans are usually better educated than Red Americans. He says, “Red America is traditional, religious, self-disciplined, and patriotic. Blue America is modern, secular, self-expressive, and discomfited by blatant displays of patriotism.” These different lifestyles have been categorized in Red America and Blue America. I also agree with Emily when she says that without these differences we would be close to a communist country. These differing opinions are what make us America; they represent all of our factions. Frank mentions this by using a “high school cafeteria” analogy. There are two factions, boys and girls, and within those factions are even more factions, jocks, nerds, etc. This is a great representation because sometimes the factions inside of the main faction don’t agree as well leading to even more conflict. Ultimately, American culture is conflictual.

-If we did not point out the differences between the two political cultures, do you think that we would focus on these differences as much?

Political Cultures

I agree with Sarah and Alyse. Sarah mentioned how with so many people in the country there is no possible way for everyone to have the same opinion on every issue. Because of this, America is a conflictual country. The whole country is split up into two parts: Blue America who are the liberals and democrats, and Red America, who are the conservative republicans. In Brooks' article he explained the physical difference between the two areas. He said that the Red America was more old fashioned, didn't really care about their appearance and were very involved with church, while Blue America cared about what they looked like, and used a lot of modern technology and devices. These are just a couple of the many differences between the two separate parts of the country, but they show how different they are. As the reader goes through the articles the authors make it seem like Red and Blue America aren't even the same country. There are so many differences in even the daily lives of the citizens, it seems that the countries aren't even under the same form of government. In Frank's reading he said, "America is always in a state of quasi-civil war: on one side are the unpretentious millions of authentic Americans; and on the other stand the bookish, all powerful liberals." The idea that the country is always at war comes from the fact that there are always opposite views on every idea or change happening in the country. If Red America feels one way on an issue, then Blue America  will feel the opposite. There is always conflict between which side is right, and usually there is no answer. Both sides have good reasoning on issues, so there is no winner. Since there is no winner it is a continuous war, which makes our country conflictual. Another one of the big conflicts within the country is the different sides not seeing the benefit of each other. For example a quote from Frank's reading says, "the work we [red states] do can be measured in bushels, pounds, shingles nailed, and bricks laid, rather than in the fussy judgments that make up office employees reviews." This quote explains how the Red states believe that their work is far more important than the work of the Red states that only work in offices and get reviews from a boss. The red states believe their work is providing for the country while the blue states do not. This is most likely also true for the Blue states. They probably believe they are contributing to the government and economic problems in the country while the red states are just growing food. Both sides have their own values in this and neither are right. Because of these differences in values the Bush v Gore election in 2000 was very close. Both sides of the nation wanted their representative to win to carry on their beliefs and it was an extremely close running. Bush ended up winning for the Democrats by 4 electoral votes. Therefore, the country is very conflictual which is shown through the different views and values as well as how each color states do not value each other's work as greatly as they do their's.

 

Political Culture

The United States' political culture, or the widely shared ideals and values which define the relationship between the citizens and their government, could be described as conflictual.  The vast number of people living in America makes it impossible for there to ever be any type of consensual culture.  The population of approximately 316 million people in America creates numerous factions of people with different views and opinions, and this contributes to our "conflictual" society.  Another element that makes our political culture conflictual is brought up in Brook's article.  The difference in ethnicity between Red America (conservative, heartland) and Blue America (liberal, coastal) is astonishing.  Brook states (specifically in his nearby counties) "In Montgomery County 60 percent of the population is white, 15 percent is black, 12 percent is Hispanic, and 11 percent is Asian. In Franklin County 95 percent of the population is white."  This data further proves how divided america is, therefore making conflictual political culture.  In Frank's article  he talks about the factions between Red and Blue America and also the smaller groups of high schools like jocks and nerds.  This proves that there is conflictual culture everywhere.  All of these different beliefs contribute tho this society that is anything but consensual.  I agree with Kayla when she says "As long as there are red and states, there will always be conflict in their ideas and expectations of the government."  This statement she made is exactly the point of why there is conflictual culture in America.  As long as people have different beliefs (which they always will) then the culture is conflictual.    

Political Culture

I agree with Zach, Kayla, Lauren, and Sarah in concluding that the political culture is conflictual.  in Brook's article, he states the vast differences in the two types of Americans.  We have the "Red American" who is more of the blue collar, hard working, more "hillbilly" American.  The "Blue American" however was described as this selfish, Starbucks drinking, iPhone using American.  He describes thses two as being nothing alike in terms of beliefs and values.  In Frank's reading, he focuses a lot on the election map of the 2000 election of Bush v. Gore.  He adds that Washington Post's pundit-in-chief stated that "This nation rarely appeared more divided than it does right now".  He also refers to them as being "two different Americas".  I feel as though the 200 election map  is a perfect representation of how the country is divided politically.  Although some opinions in the two major parties do sometimes agree with each other, more often then not, they clash and, intern, created the debates and arguments that ultimately separate the country politically, especially around election time or during a time when the country needs important decisions to be made.  All in all, I do believe that the political culture of America is, in fact, conflictual.

Political Culture

I must agree with Alyse, Sarah and Emily. The Political Culture in America is very conflictual. With the millions of people living in America it is very much impossible for our political culture to not be conflictual. Thomas Frank wrote in his book several examples on how our political culture is conflictual. In fact, Frank argued that, "A red-stater is loyal. This is the part of the country that fills the army's ranks and defends the flag against all comers. While the European-minded know-it-alls of blue land waited only a short time after 9/11 to commence blaming America for the tragedy, the story goes, sturdy red-staters stepped forward unhesitatingly to serve their country one more time" (Frank 23). The nation had conflict on what to do after 9/11. This is one of our nation's most tragic events in our history, and we had conflict over what we should have done. The people in the red states went to the military while the people in the blue states started to blame America for the terrorist attack. Also, according to Brooks, "Red America is traditional, religious, self-disciplined, and patriotic. Blue America is modern, secular, self-expressive, and discomfited by blatant displays of patriotism" (Brooks). Our political culture is based on our lifestyle. The people in red states live a different lifestyle than the people in the blue states. This will make the people in the red states have different political beliefs than the people in the blue states. The people in blue states tend to not care for religion while the people in the red states tend to not really value a totally civil society or the freedom of religion (in order to spread Christianity) or true equality like making gay marriage a right. The people in the red states might like to protest the government more than the people in blue states. There will always be conflict between the red and blue states. As long as there are different lifestyles, there will always be red states and blue states which will make our political culture conflictual.

Political Culture of America

I agree with Sarah, Alyse and Emily when they say that American political culture today is conflictual. As stated by Brooks, the two sides of the nation are very different. "Red America" is more of the "real" image of America while "Blue America" is liberal and the elite. The fact that Brooks and we can notice that there are very huge differences between the parts of the nation just shows that American political culture is conflictual. Not only do we notice the differences but we are each a part of the differences. In class, each of us represents similar but not exactly the same political ideology. The factions that are in America can be represented in class. If we all the had the same ideas, then there would be no point in politics at all. The main reason we argue is to get our ideas out and without that, we have no America. The freedom we have to express ourselves automatically creates a conflictual society. Red America is church loving and traditional. Blue America is elitist and liberal. The very places we live create the conflictual nation we are. The modern coastal cities and farms in the middle of the country create 2 very different people. The technology that Blue America has enables them to be more "educated" as Brooks states and the country lifestyle makes the Red Americans more "normal" and the image of the true American. Conflict in ideas, however, is not a bad thing. The reason we get things done in politics (sort of) is for the advancement of our own ideas. Without different and conflictual ideas, what would even be the point of government? We would all want the same thing so we would not need a governing body to make the decisions for us. Although conflictual, the political culture of America is what makes us truly American, no matter where we live.

Political Culture

I agree with Zach, Kayla, and Sarah that our political culture is conflictual. The main categorization in our country is Red states and Blue states. Our political culture is so different in each of these states because of their large differences in location, job occupation, values, and factions within. Red states are in the middle of the country, on farms, while Blue states are on the coast and in big cities; Red states have traditional values, while Blue states have modern values. I completely agree with Alyse that the difference between how a ''red-stater" is raised and a "blue-stater" is raised causes the differneces in their political beliefs. They go their entire life living in their state, being taught right from wrong, and only seeing their views as the correct views. All these factors will defiantly cause an influence on their political culture. Brooks thinks that their political beliefs are so different from each other that America has become divided between two systems.  Red states are "traditional, religious, self-disciplined, and patriotic" while Blue states are "modern, secular, self-expressive, and discomfited by blatant displays of patriotism." Franks believes that this "deep divid" really is nothing to worry when expressed with his high school metaphor. High school is filled with factions, but Frank focuses in on the faction between nerds and jocks. Each one knew the other would always be there, and neither of them did, or could, do anything about each other. This was just life, there would always be factions, and there is nothing anybody can do to prevent them. Overall, political culture is expressed to be conflictual by both Brooks and Franks. 
Below is a picture of Blue America versus Red America. You can clearly see how Blue America is mostly on the coast and Red America is in the middle of the country. This map shows you not just Blue and Red states, but individual regions in each state that are Blue and Red.
-Do you think Blue regions in Red states are blue because they have more physical things in common with Blue states? Or do you think their values are changing as America is becoming more modern and technology is advancing?  

Political Culture

I think Alyse was correct in saying that different lifestyles are ultimately the cause of different political beliefs, resulting in a conflictual America. Between religious differences (Republicans generally attend church more than Democrats, according to Brooks) and educational differences (Brooks also points out that Democrats are generally better educated than Republicans), there are quite a few resulting ideological differences between the two parties.In his article, Brooks notes that America has two moral systems - Red is "traditional, religious, self-disciplined, and patriotic", while Blue is "modern, secular, self-expressive, and discomfited by blatant displays of patriotism" - and these may very well be true because of the differences in lifestyles that could shape what one believes. Of course, there are also smaller factions within the two parties (such as special interest groups) and as a result there is are inevitable divides that cut America into not just two groups, but many. Sarah makes a good point when she mentions the fact that with a population so large, there's no way that we would all have the same views. It makes perfect sense, then, that Frank would want to include Brook's analogy of our population being like a "high school cafeteria" in his What's the Matter With Kansas? -  of course, at the surface there may be just two groups (boys and girls) but within these two groups are (sometimes intermingling) factions that include "nerds, jocks, punks, bikers, techies, druggies, 'God-squadders' and so on. It is evident, then, that should this analogy be accurate, America's political parties and the groups within are most certainly conflictual. This was demonstrated especially by the government shutdown last year - it was the overwhelming disagreement between the parties and their political views that was ultimately the source of such a drastic event.

Conflictual America

I agree with Sarah and Alyse on the idea that America has a very conflictual political culture.   If everyone had the same views, ideas, and choices, then that would slightly resemble a communistic way of life.  America has been known as "the melting pot" for a number of years.  This nick name shows America's diverse population with many people following different religions and cultures.  America welcomes new people and new ideas, however this gives room for conflict to arrive.  Yet, conflict isn't always a bad thing.  Without conflict our government would be unproductive and would never reach a conclusion.  For awhile now, America has been divided into two sections, Red America and Blue America.  Brooks describes Red America as southern folk who are very involved in church, have very little education, and don't really care to impress anyone.  Blue America was characterized as very individual people, living in urban areas, and very snobby.  This divide in America's population has also led to different political choices for people.  There are many pieces of factual evidence to support this divide including SAT scores that are significantly lower in Red America than in Blue.  Frank adds to the argument saying that there are many divisions inside this one large divide.  Even though Frank is against Brooks argument, Brooks provides some pretty convincing facts that support his points.  Everyone inside Red or Blue America will also have conflicting views, but there is one major divide among these two kinds of people in America.  There is no obvious middle ground.  Based on the views and morals you were raised by, is consequently which political side you will turn to whether it be liberal or conservative.  Most Red Americans are conservative because of their traditional views and frequent church visits.  Blue Americans are usually liberals because of their more modernized way of life and their new found sense of individualism.  Even though there is a large division among the citizens of the United States of America,  it helps to push our government into constantly working and changing to provide for the needs of each side.

Political Culture

I completely agree with Alyse. Her argument, for America having a conflictual political culture, has a very valid point. America has over three hundred and sixteen million people. It is impossible for everyone in the nation to agree and stand by the same morals. America holds a reputation for holding a diverse nation. It welcomes all different religions,speaks a variety of languages, and trusts in new opinions of the people. By the nation encouraging all this freedom to the people, it gives a larger area for conflicts in political culture to evolve. America has been divided into Red America and Blue America. Brooks characterizes Red America as people who live down south with less education and deeply involved in church. He describes Blue America as the complete opposite; living in cities, snobby well educated people with a large sense of individualism. This is the divide in America and facts have been found to prove it. A prime example is one stated by Brooks saying that only 53% of reds consider themselves an intellectual while 75% of blues do.Blue America likes to live by the idea of everyone having a creative mind of their own that they can show off and compete with one another, while Red America likes the idea of being equally minded and peacefully working eachother up together. Another example showing the distinct separation of reds and blues was found by Frank, which is a line from a "self described blue" American in New York City. After the 9/11 terrorist attack, she realized that the people doing the actual hard work and labor were the ones who kept the country running, not the business men. This shows the deep separation between the red and the blues. they live two different lives and have complete opposite views of each other. America has a visible separation of two very different people living in one country, under the same Constitution.
Although all this information may point out differences, I don't think having a conflictual political culture in a nation is necessarily a bad thing. Even though problems may arose from the spans of diversity across the country, it will push forward improvement and constant change in the government.

Political Culture

I also agree with Kayla and Zach that our current political culture is in fact very conflictual. Whether you’re looking at how we view ourselves, our pastimes, jobs and or the attendance rate at churches we go too, its obvious no matter what your argument is, that these entire social divides and differences create differences in our views on politics and how the government should operate.A great example is that it is a proven fact, like Brooks said, that people in the “red states” have more people that attend churches than the “blue state” residents do. This creates a divide between moral issues like abortion and same sex marriage. Frank also expands this argument by pointing out the fact that there are many smaller divisions inside these major ones. Frank, even though he is arguing against Brook still can’t rebuke all of Brooks arguments. Facts are facts. There is a lot of factual evidence, like SAT scores for example, to backup many of Brook’s arguments. People in “red” are less educated versus occupants of “blue”. That could lead to many different views on disagreements such as whether kids should be forced to go to school or not. Everyone inevitably has confliction views, but in America, it is clear that we can be divided into two major differences based on social aspects that influence political decisions.  Growing up in Alabama per say could set you on a path to lead a more humble life because that is just how you were raised. These concepts will not change because these views will be passed down from generation to generation. In say New York, if a rich city man raised you, you may think of regard yourself in a different way and value material things more. This would lead to different political views, therefore demonstrating once again, that even though Brooks article may come off a little stereotypical, it still proves that America has a strong conflictual political culture.

Political Culture

I agree with Zach in his saying that America's political culture is conflictual. In America, people can be categorized into either red states or blue states. This separation of political opinions itself already begins to demonstrate the conflictual political culture in America. Life in the red states is very different from life in the blue states and this leads to a lot of judgments and disagreements between the two. As both Brooks and Frank said, red America thinks blue America is snobby, self-centered and ungrateful. On the other hand, blue America thinks red America is uneducated, overweight and too open about religion. It is so unreasonable for everyone to think the same exact thing and share the same opinions and therefore we see the clear distinctions between the American people. Not only do these two broad groups exist, but also smaller groups within the red and blue states similar to cliques in a high school cafeteria as Frank explains. With all of these different beliefs, it is impossible for America's political culture to be conflictual. A common example used when discussing red and blue states is the presidential election between Al Gore and George W. Bush. This is often brought up because it is an excellent display of how varied the political culture in America is and what kind of impact that can have on our nation. Although the 2000 election is a good example, any election could work to show the divide in our country. If you looked at an electoral map for any past election, the divisions between red and blue states would still be very clear. There will never be a year when the map is entirely blue or entirely red. This means that our political culture is conflictual.. Although there is no physical violence between red and blue states, there is still tension and disagreements. As long as there are red and states, there will always be conflict in their ideas and expectations of the government. A consensual political culture in America is more of a picture perfect idea than it is a reality in our country.

Political Culture

Our American Political culture is conflictual.  As Brooks’ describes in his essay, there are many ways to differentiate Blue from Red America.  The different lifestyles evident between these separate peoples lead to many disagreements politically.  This became very clear to most after the Gore Bush election.  As it was seen that the election came so close to a tie, our country began to realize just how divided we are.  While we can be depicted as very divided just between Red and Blue states, I don’t think this is the most accurate way to describe our conflictual state of being.  We are not just divided in this one way, we are divided in many other ways as Frank describes.  He uses an example of our nation being split even further into separate categories such as the ones you would find in a high school cafeteria. I think this helps give a more accurate depiction of what America is like today.  We are split into two main groups with conflicting ideas, and they are Red and Blue states.  But even more specifically, there are subgroups within these main two that divide our country even further. Brooks’ Essay does a poor job to acknowledge this which is why Frank gives a more accurate depiction of America.  Overall, America is conflictual, but in more ways than most think.  The famous picture of our country created shortly after the Bush election (pictured below) is not the only way people should realize America is conflictual. You have to acknowledge the fact that there are numerous other types of people with different views, who don’t fall directly into either Blue, or Red America.  This fact is why America is so much more conflictual than it is described in Brooks’ essay.

Political Culture Meets Political Ideology

Political Culture is defined as widely shared beliefs, values, and norms that define the relationship between citizens and government. We have included the following in our definition of American culture:

• Personal Liberty
• Equality
• Democracy
• Civil Society (The Rule of Law)
• Individualism
• Religious Faith and Freedom

We have also discussed political ideologies in America and their impact on our political culture. The intersection of political ideology and political culture has been an area of intense debate in recent political science, and it has sparked an important question:

Is American political culture conflictual or consensual?

Remember, a conflictual political culture is one in which different groups (or subcultures) clash with opposing beliefs and values; a consensual political culture experiences less conflict. No matter how broadly the consensus is held, any culture contains values that overlap and conflict; the American political culture is no exception.

ASSIGNMENT
In a blog post please:

• Write a well developed, argued, and organized answer to this question.
• Be sure to include evidence from both the Brooks and Frank readings in your response.
• Include an outside piece of evidence from the internet (Movie, picture, graph, chart, etc).
• Do not write your post in isolation, comment on a previous blog post made by a classmate, or comment on an idea or argument made in class.
• Be sure to label your post "political culture"

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