America is not becoming more polarized – but the politicians sure are. They have convinced many of us that we are not part of the political equation unless we are an over the top extremist, fatally committed to one side, and ready to lob grenades at the other.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. The majority of us are in the same boat, looking for somebody to row it rather than rock it, offering solutions instead of sour grapes.
The true “reality’ is that for the greater part of the last century, this country has been as “polarized” as it is now. Historically, the election of our presidents relies on about 50 percent of the voting public, which was the case with President Obama in the last election, despite his overwhelming electoral edge; he only garnered about 54 percent of the popular vote. There are occasional exceptions. Like Bill Clinton’s election with only 43 percent of voters in ‘92, Nixon by 60 percent in ‘72, Johnson by 61 percent in ‘64 and Roosevelt by 60 percent in ‘36.
However, Americans have always been a toss up for their political views because most of them sit somewhere in the middle politically, and it does not take much to push them to either of the two primary candidates. A better economic idea, a better foreign policy, or an amazingly charismatic candidate can accomplish that easily.
The real change in American politics is occurring with many politicians realizing that since less than half of the population votes, and that those voters are split down the middle, all you have to do is pander to the politically involved special interests. Those interests that will get a few more of your voters registered to vote than the other side, rather than tackling the more difficult task of campaigning to the whole electorate in the middle and hoping they will vote for you. The result is candidates who represent the few rather than the many.
I have traveled from one end of this country to another over the last decade, ever since we started hearing how polarized this country was becoming, but I did not see a polarized America, not in the ideas, attitudes, nor the desires and goals of the people I met.
I find that people want honest politicians to respect their rights to freedom, and to help us have a government and a society that will do the same. They want government that helps those who fall between the cracks by enacting reasonable programs to make life better, but without taking away our rights or unfairly taxing our hard-earned wages through programs that entitle without responsibility.
They want government to figure out sensible and fruitful economic policies, and wise energy policies, as well as logical foreign policies that do not require us to police the world while still protecting us.
They want politicians to clarify our best strategic interest, then have the courage to carry out those strategies regardless of what media pundits or the rest of the world says.
Most importantly, they want candidates who will speak to us, all of us, not a select few on the extreme right or the far left. They want a government that reaches out around the world with that same collaborative openness and compassion, while still standing firm and proud as Americans.
That is a difficult exercise in moderation and careful compromise, but it is a necessary and crucial one – one which our candidates are shirking lately.
And that campaign style is turning into a governing style. For the first time in a long time, we have leaders who don’t care if almost half the country believes in what they are doing as long as they can push their core supporters to demonize and disqualify the other side. They are dividing rather than uniting.
But the good news is that over 30 percent of us are now registered independents. And we can and must continue to resist the politicians’ attempts to turn us against each other for the sake of getting elected.
The more I travel across this great nation of ours, the more people I meet who are ready to unite for our common human values – the one this nation was founded upon – like respecting our human right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. How we do that best is the question we should all be asking ourselves. If the current politicians don’t have an answer, it’s time for someone who does.
This is not a Red- or Blue-State issue; however, it is as simple as black or white.