The two symbols for the Democratic (Donkey) and Republican (Elephant) party’s illustrate extreme tension.

    Partisan Polarization is a somewhat new factor weaving its way into government. What is it you ask? The extreme resistance and tension between the two political parties in the United States of America, based on the belief that one person may only choose “one side”. Specifically following the election of Donald Trump in 2016, partisan polarization in this country is at an all time high proving difficult for anything useful to actually get done, not just in the government but within the average community. 

        Partisanship has been a longtime aspect of American democracy for hundreds of years. Not specifically what the founding fathers intended, but they were all old white guys with some pretty crazy ideas anyways so it doesn’t really matter. When the party system was introduced, the republic offered essentially two options, either Democratic or Republican. However, like I mentioned before, the immense isolation that has expanded from this system is, to put it in plain words, harmful. 

        Like I mentioned before, the intensity of the situation has only recently sparked following the 2016 election. Before then, sure people disagreed about things, but the country wouldn’t tear itself apart nor risk its so-called liberation and democracy just for the sake of staying loyal to an elephant or a donkey. People don’t even necessarily think about who they are voting for in this time period. Especially adding other factors like social media into the mix, the search for truthful news gets increasingly harder. Most eligible voters don’t even actually educate themselves on important issues or policies, they just pick whichever candidate has a simple “R” or “D” next to their name. 

       Overall, partisan polarization is detrimental to the United States and its people. It is absolutely vital that as a nation, we begin by recognizing the issue and take action as soon as possible, for it could be the very thing that could rip us apart.