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.