America Torn in Two

Can a divided country still stand strong?

Image courtesy of Google Images.

Image courtesy of Google Images.

Coen Schoonover, Gales Tales Editor

Think about this. The U.S. capital was attacked. President Trump has been impeached twice. Ten Republicans voted for impeachment. So far, no evidence of fraud has been proven in the 2020 election. The country seems more divided than ever

Thomas Stedman, LHS social studies teacher 

Lancaster High School Social Studies teacher, Thomas Stedman, said that it is a confusing and stressful time for America.

“If half of the country refuses to accept the [election]results because of perceived election fraud, then it may be difficult for a President Biden to bring the country together,” he said. “It is hard to say how the country will be moving forward,” said Stedman.

LHS junior, Sophia Martin.

Polarization in presidential races is nothing new. In fact, political polarization – the vast and growing gap between liberals and conservatives, Republicans and Democrats – is a defining feature of American politics today, and one the Pew Research Center has documented for many years. In the 2020 election, nearly all senate elections reflect states’ presidential votes, (Pew Research 2020).

“The final U.S. Senate races of the 2020-21election cycle have continued a pattern that’s emerged over the past decade or so. Senate election results are very much in sync with states’ presidential votes,” wrote Drew Desliver, a senior writer at Pew Research Center.

Sophia Martin, a junior at LHS, said the media helped to compound the polarization of the American public with repeated and perhaps biased information, that fueled and intensified already strong viewpoints among the public.

“This election was so politically and emotionally polarized and the disparity between both political parties was extremely exaggerated. This election was mostly based on media perception and how someone took the information that was heard or seen,” she said.

LHS sophomore,
Donaven Husband. Photo courtesy of Husband.

The Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy organization that conducts research that leads to new ideas for solving problems facing society, said the country is so divided that people don’t trust anyone that disagrees with their political view.

“The United States is caught in a partisan hyper-conflict that divides politicians, communities—and even families. This polarization has become so intense that many people no longer trust anyone from a differing perspective.”

LHS sophomore, Donaven Husband agreed.

“I think it’s immature to be fighting over who is right and who is wrong. Everyone has a reason to believe in something and instead of trying to understand why they believe it, we attack them. We are all humans but we act like some people are cockroaches.”