America Is Two Different Political Countries These Days

The United States, so severely polarized, is increasingly deemed as a less-than-reliable partner for the rest of the globe. However, Republican and Democrat voters are not uncertain and instead embrace the respective stances and leaders of their parties, explains Chris Cillizza for the Washington Post. “[W]e are increasingly moving toward two entirely separate Americas, a liberal one and a conservative one,” he writes. “Residents in each of those countries have responded in drastically different ways to the consequential events – the September 11 terrorist attacks, Hurricane Katrina, the NSA spying scandal, the economic downturn – of the last decade.” The polarization will continue until one faction wins over the other – or the country divides. US voters are somewhat evenly divided among Republican, Democrat and independent affiliation, but only about 55 percent of registered voters show up for elections. As the country lunges back and forth between liberal and conservative policies, the rest of the world must contend with uncertainty. – YaleGlobal