Is partisanship going down while seeking a common ground is going up?

Question

I am asking this question because it seems to me partisanship has caused this country so many problems that the people are getting sick of it.  That they realize the problems are a lot more complex then what the partisans say it is, that the easy fixes do not exist and that instant gratification is only a wet dream of those blind enough to think that.

Maybe I am wrong, that partisanship serves a vital purpose, to unite people on one side to beat the other side senseless so they can get their agenda rammed down the throat of the USA. I'm serious, that's the way it seems.

Personally I hate partisan politics, because in our time of need, they have sought to divide this country for their own reasons with little regard to most anything else. 

That goes for the left as well as the right.

What say you?

El Tecolote · Accepted Answer

What say me?  The only time the Democrats start talking about bipartisanship is when the Republicans seem to have the upper hand.

There are conservatives and there are liberals.  There is a right and there is a left.  There is no other way to be, unless you have defined the political leanings of "up."  That's what gives rise to the political parties.

Seriously.  Green is just a more radical form of Democrat, Libertarian is a more radical form of Republican and Independent is a vast wasteland for Democrats who don't want the Democrat "label."  The undecideds simply don't understand their own politics well enough to be able to identify with one side or the other.  That leaves, let's see, the Nazi Party, the Communist Party and the Socialist Party.  Which one of those would you like to see gain a foothold in our nation?

Edit:  Dude, did I STUTTER?  No wonder you don't understand partisanship; it looks to me like you don't understand too much else besides that.

Ryan F · Answer

I think extreme partisan politics maybe the inevitable end result of any large, open and inclusive society simply because of how hard it is to get people to agree on anything...  it's kind of a double edged sword; we should be an open and inclusive society but the more people you include and allow to participate in our society, with their different backgrounds, experiences and opinions, the harder it is to get people to agree on what needs to be done to make things better...  the USA is a perfect example, even if we agree that, say illegal immigration, is a problem we can't agree on what we should do about it and so we do nothing and the problem simply grows larger...

Is partisanship going down while seeking a common ground is going up?

2 Answers