We have addressed American political culture from many perspectives this quarter. We have discussed the evolution of American political culture and several of the important elements that continue to shape it including, immigration, race, ethnicity, religion, education, elections and representation, etc. Although we often find it challenging to view things outside of the modern day perspective, much has changed over time. Consider the following:
2 months ago: you started this class
4 months ago: 2018 midterms elect the most diverse Congress ever
1.5 years ago: #MeToo movement begins
2 years ago: Trump signs first of three immigration and refugee bills aimed to curb immigration and refugees from several majority-Muslim nations (all have been stalled in court)
2 year, 4 months ago: Trump elected president
3 year ago: marked increase in hate crimes in U.S., largely targeting immigrants, Muslims, Jews, and LGBTQ community
5 years ago: Unemployment 6.3% overall, 12.1% for African Americans, 9.1% for Hispanics, 4.8% for Asian Americans, DOW 16,700 (Today: Unemployment 3.6%, 6.1% for African Americans, 4.3% for Hispanics, 3% for Asian Americans, DOW at 25,333)
6 years ago: Black Lives Matter movement begins
7 years ago: Protestants no longer make up majority of American population
11 years ago: the first nonwhite president was elected
12 years ago: Unemployment 4.5%, DOW at 14,000
13 years ago: very few of us had ever heard of Barack Obama
14 years ago: The supreme court ruled that colleges still had legitimate reasons to use race and ethnicity as factors in college admissions
18 years ago: 9/11
28 years ago: the Rodney King Case and racially charged rioting
41 years ago: Regents of University of CA vs. Bakke
46 years ago: Roe vs. Wade legalized abortion nationwide
51 years ago: modern civil rights movement ends (according to most historians), Martin Luther King killed, major riots, peak of troops in Vietnam
52 years ago: third year in a row of major racially charged riots throughout American cities
54 years ago: Voting Rights Act of 1965, new immigration laws dramatically increase immigration (especially from Asia and Latin America), Black Power movement, Malcolm X killed
55 years ago: Civil Rights Act of 1964
56 years ago: March on Washington, Birmingham protests
64 years ago: Montgomery Bus Boycott
65 years ago: Brown vs. Board of Education
74 years ago: end of WWII
75 years ago: Interment of 110,000 Japanese Americans
99 years ago: Women gain the right to vote
112 years ago: peak of Immigration in early 20th century
123 years ago: Plessy vs. Ferguson - separate but equal is constitutional
125 years ago: widespread lynching and intimidation
137 years ago: Chinese Exclusion Act
142 years ago: end of reconstruction, early Jim Crow Era (which lasts nearly 100 years)
149 years ago: 15th amendment - black men given right to vote
151 years ago: 14th amendment
154 years ago: 13th amendment - end of slavery
154 years ago: end of Civil War, Start of reconstruction, black codes
158 years ago: start of Civil War
210 years ago: end of slave trade
232 years ago: Constitution written including 3/5 compromise and slavery
243 years ago: Declaration of Independence
399 years ago: First Pilgrims arrived searching for freedom to practice their religion
400 years ago: first slaves from Africa brought to colonies
412 years ago: first British Colony established
several thousand years earlier: Native Americans living here.
The point: much has changed, and often in a short period of time. Looking forward what do you predict will be the state of American political culture 2, 5, 10, or even 20 years from now? What can and should be done politically to help?
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Despite the fact that things may not look extremely bright for the future of American political culture right now, I think a lot of positive change can occur in the coming years. The 2020 Presidential election will play a huge role in changing what our country will look like because each candidate has ideas that they think will make America better, so we will have to see how that all plays out. A big issue that I expect to change a lot in the next 5 years or so, will be immigration. I really hope that the government is able to create immigration policies that serve the purposes of keeping our country safe, but also allow people to come to the United States without unnecessary restrictions. I also hope that in the coming years we are able to address income inequality and poverty because it is currently a huge issue keeping our country from reaching its fullest potential. In order to do this, the government might raise minimum wages, create more job opportunities, and reform tax policies. While it may sound pessimistic, I don’t expect race relations to improve soon because of the political climate we are currently in however, maybe looking forward 20 years or so, there could definitely be a possibility for less segregation and more equal treatment of people, regardless of race or ethnicity.
ReplyDelete-Anna Starobinets
American political culture seems to be changing really rapidly, however, there are still many core values that it has had since the beginning of its history that still stands today. Individualism is a very big part of our American culture and it shows in our politics, economics, and cultural everyday life. Although we are starting to see more progressive candidates in our political system and the younger generations are also more progressive, I am wondering how much of that individualism will we hold onto as the political and societal demographic changes. The "rags to riches" of American culture has made America itself as a beacon of hope for its citizens, immigrants, and outsiders. Although the "rags to riches" trope is a very hopeful one, there are many systematic problems as to why it doesn't exactly translate to hard work=more money. The divisiveness of political ideology among America makes it much hard to guess where political culture may stand 5, 10, 20, or even 50 years from now. Either the polarization would continue and at some point collapse (I have seen some articles on even a civil war?!) or maybe even a possibility of a big problem that will form some kind of unity.
ReplyDeleteThe timeline you laid out shows that indicates that “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice”. While I really like, and feel like that MLK quote fits this timeline-- it sure doesn't feel that way right now. I hate to be so pessimistic but I feel like the step back America took 2 years ago electing Trump will require years of fixing, and that’s only if he doesn't win reelection. Post this period in history we have to believe/act on climate change, rebuild relationships with our allies and NGOs, and make sure that we have not completely eroded democratic guardrails. So my prediction is that we become more polarized. Even if there are movements like #metoo, #endfamilyseperation, #BLM, there are huge push backs and reactions that only further divide us.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with what you outlined in your post. I think that over the years we've made a lot of progress across many different perspectives in the U.S. These perspectives and changes range from racial issues, ethnic issues, religious issues, gender issues, etc. However, in the last couple years, this said progress has taken a turn and completely turned back around. All this progress that we pride ourselves in making has vanished as if it never happened in the first place. I, too, think that fixing this to not only bring back the progress that we had before but also to move forward will take a long period of reconciliation. In the near future and beyond, I agree with you that the U.S. will become more divided and will never really be able to reach a state of complete union on these issues.
DeleteI think this is a fantastic point. It is a myth that there is a noble steady climb towards progress. There are countless setbacks and roadblocks to a brighter society. There are many people who have no interest in such progress. This presence will always exist, in some way or another. If we would like to progress, we have to outnumber them and force the world to change for the better. Trump, Kavanaugh, the alt-right. All of them are trying to limit social progress. As you say, it will take years to repair the damage done, but that does not mean we should stop fighting for it. Progress is not inevitable, it is a struggle. They only win if we stop trying.
DeleteI noticed this same trend as well. Throughout time it looked like we continued to progress but with these last few years it seems like we've taken a step back. With the points you made it looks like it would be hard to predict the future whether we move past this stage or if we become further divided. My optimistic hope is that with the rise of our generation, the most progressive generation things will slowly get better as we take office and get involved.
DeleteI totally agree Flonja! (Funny note--I remember saying this EXACT quote when I was interviewed by North Star News the day after the election my senior year.) The possibility of Trump's election is becoming increasingly real, I'd argue, with leftist candidates (that align with my views!) fracturing a democratic party that has historically favored centrists. The optimism within this, however, is located EXACTLY within the increasing presence of these candidates (and particularly, the rise of socialism). So many youths were radicalized after the 2016 primaries, and the political fervor has not slowed since then!!
DeleteI can only hope the results of this election, good or bad, will serve as a catalyst for immediate--and radical--change.
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ReplyDeleteAs seen from the timeline many things have changed and happened over the years. In the next couple of years and the future, I hope we gain many positive things in our political culture. Slowly we have seen more political participation in women and in the next couple of years I hope to see more women in power and hopefully we can experience the first female President. As a future teacher, I hope to see school inequality change so all students are receiving quality and equal education. Also, living in the most diverse place in the world I hope that segregation and race relations end so we can become a more equal country. I’m not sure if I see that happening anytime soon but hopefully in the future.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Claudia. I hope the next few years prevail with more women participating and in power. But not only women, minorities too. I'd love to see women of color in power and the like. I don't think it's enough to look at it all without the lens of intersectionality attached. Although this is what I hope for, I know it'll take a long time before it's a reality and consistent enough.
Delete-Paulina Michael
I'd like to think that things will change for the better. Just in the past year a lot has changed. Seeing the timeline makes me hopeful, but I also know there is a long way to go before any policies that many people are fighting for to be reached. I also know that no policy is perfect and new issues will arise as time goes on. I think polarization will continue for at least the next 2-5 years, but as more time passes I hope that decreases, but I don't know.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that I see the polarization continuing for the next couple years but hopefully breaking off in the future. Maybe it is because once our age group starts to mature and enter politics we will be better at reaching compromises than those before us were. One can hope!
DeleteI definitely agree that I see the polarization continuing for the next couple years but hopefully breaking off in the future. Maybe it is because once our age group starts to mature and enter politics we will be better at reaching compromises than those before us were. One can hope!
DeleteHistory is a great tool to predicting, but also in acknowledging the likely responses to societal change. In that regard, we should expect the fringe right and media outlets to dictate conversations around culture, white identity politics, and debate the assimilation of refugees, immigrants, and even members of congress. On the other hand, we can expect a constant battle of ideas, identity, and liberation to take place. Our economy is fast changing, our modes of communication have been sped up and become constant, and newsmakers seem caught up in a twitter-vortex of political news and analysis. There are a million things happening at once, but I think a few of the bigger stories are..
ReplyDelete-Corporate power and distrust of authority that can span both political ideologies.
-A push for reconciliation around racism in this country and a strong pushback against that(claims of "reserve racism" etc)
-How technology will play a role in our lives and whether America will cede much of its workforce to automation over the next generation.
-Is our political system and culture set up to represent a majority of people's opinions, and how the hell will we do what's deemed necessary to combat climate change?
Those are big questions that seem to be driving our politics around popular policies, debates about the electoral college and representation, race, and the future of our economy.
I like that you pointed out the importance of history as a knowledge resource. History is a great not only for understanding our past, but also for helping us put our present into the proper context. It provides a wealth of information about how people and societies interact and respond to different situations and circumstances.
DeleteWhile history can’t tell us much about driverless cars, it can tell us about how increased automation during the industrial revolution affected the working class. Similarly, concerns about “reverse racism” may seem like a new phenomenon, but white conservative opposition towards the advancement of minority rights in America has been a concept at least as far back as the Civil War era if not further.
Though many of the issues we face today may seem unprecedented, much of both American and world history can seem eerily familiar when properly analyzed. This is not the first time politics have become highly polarized, nor will it be the last. To invoke an oft-repeated, but perpetually relevant quote, “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”
- Nora Haskell
Thinking ahead to the future, I really want to be optimistic but I am almost hesitant to do so. Thinking about where our political parties currently are in relation to each other is very disheartening. Looking forward to the future, I can only hope the two parties will stop being so polarized, and that common ground can be found somewhere in between. If the parties cannot learn to work together and make compromises, I fear our future as a country won't look too pretty. If we think our country is a mess now, if things go on from here I think it will only get uglier. I don't want to end on a negative note though, because I genuinely believe we Americans are resilient and are more than capable to stand together as one. We just all need to stop playing the HEAR MY VOICE game, and instead all learn to listen.
ReplyDeleteTiana Petricevic
ReplyDeleteLooking to the future, I want to be optimistic, but I believe that we will become more partisan. We see these trends so much already. We see that the parties are drifting further and further apart, and less people are coming forward to stop this shift because of their existing party identification and the pressures they face from their party (and constituency) to stay loyal. We also see that people on social media are limiting their interaction with those who hold different beliefs than them. This leads to confirmation bias, and motivated reasoning. At least, however, we are starting to seriously talk about major issues and making slow progress on them. We are starting to address systemic issues and fundamental flaws in American politics and political culture and even though we may be slowly drifting further apart, we are at least recognizing issues that have been historically swept under the rug. I think that once younger politicians (millennials and generation z) get into congress, we will begin to see a major shift since they tend to lean more left than any other generation. Maybe we will begin to see a sense of more cooperation in that time.
Alex Stamatis
ReplyDeleteI think the state of our political culture is consistently changing- for good and bad. Hopefully in the future, the state of American political culture will change only for the better. I hope that the United States is able to become a place where everyone feels safe, listened to, and feel equal. I hope that tensions related to race, religion, gender, and other important issues can be addressed as well. Although that is something I would love to see happen, I don’t think it can, at least in the near future. There will always be people in power who do not care about the interests of citizens, but only to assert their power over everyone. There will always be people who will just choose not to pay attention to certain groups of people and ignore issues that should be addressed. I think that different factors will continue to polarize parties and reinforce each of their existing beliefs.
I would love to say that I am optimistic for the future and the progress yet to come, but to be completely honest, I think that the current president is causing far more damage than people care to realize. (In my opinion) two years ago we took a GIANT step back in regard to progress. We went from our first African American president, Barack Obama, to Donald Trump who chooses to ignore the science behind climate change. So after seeing this step back, I can’t say I have much faith in who the American people will elect and continue to elect in the upcoming years. As for 2 years from now, I really hope America does not make a mistake in reelecting Donald. And 10 to 20 years from now I hope to see that substantial steps were taken in regard to acceptance, equality, and climate change / rising sea levels (because if not, soon enough there may not be a world to protect since it will all be under water)
ReplyDeleteMorgan Triefenbach
I believe that in the future, the state of America will be more accepting of differences and more liberal when i comes to political views. For example, 50 years ago if you even thought about same sex marriages that would have been looked as "radical" or "uncommon". But now it is more common and natural. So as time goes on, overall we get more liberal with our views. What can and should be done in the future is elect people no office that have the same view as you. Vote or people who you think represent you and who will fight for the country you want to live in. - Egerton Abulu
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ReplyDeleteLooking forward, I am optimistic, which may be foolish, that there will be a positive change in American political culture. In two years, we will have another election and there is a possibility of Donald Trump not having a second term. I predict that his position as president incumbent is not as safe as he seems to believe. I think in the upcoming years that the climate change will become a more prominent issue for Americans as we experience alarming weather. I think polarization will remain an prominent issue in American political culture for at least the next two to five years. I am hopeful with a different executive administration there can be more encouragement for bipartisan efforts and there can be some progress in the country as we try to grow together instead of farther apart. -Hannah Rhodes
When I think about the future, I am optimistic. Though I am an optimistic person in general, I really do think that we are moving in the right direction pertaining to American political culture. The challenges we are facing right now are pretty rough ones, but I believe that the resistance is strong; and US history can vouch for this. The timeline provided shows how throughout time there’s awful incidents like the Rodney King case, but then there’s movements like Black Lives Matter. The fight for equality and justice is never ending, but so are the changes in our political culture. The most important change being that more young people are involved in politics than probably ever before. As long as everyone, especially Millennials and Gen Z, stays active and cares about politics, I think out political culture will be in an okay state.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward I am optimistic as always. I think that the past few years have opened up a lot of wounds in America which have propelled issues into the spotlight. One example is the legalization of marijuana by some states and it has grown into a nationwide movement. The democratic candidates for 2020 all have large plans of some sort that would improve the lives for Americans, I think that even if one or two were to be enacted it would be monumental. For all the hope that the future could bring as always there are many people who do not want to see that change happen and will do anything to prevent it. It is easy to say that many ideas will not happen because Americans are not ready for it, but in the future as the demographics and age groups change, it is possible that they may occur.
ReplyDeleteJohn Milas
When I look towards the future, I see our country facing very tough challenges, but I am confident we can put our country on a better path if we commit ourselves to breaking through the political partisanship that engulfs our nation. The first step is to put cut our social media use dramatically. Our brains did not evolve to constantly receive notifications through a flashing screen. The negative affects of social media undercut our ability to resolve our most pressing issues. Next, we need to revitalize democratic principles within our society. Across the globe, democracy is declining and we as Americans have a duty to lead by example. If the current state of affairs continues, the number of dictatorships and autocracies will surge increase. Positive change is not a given. It demands hard work and determination. It will only come if there is a sustained and cooperative effort from our society.
ReplyDeleteI am entirely a hopeful optimist and always have been. Its what i was socialized to be, learning from my Dad and my friends to look on the bright side of things. Because of this, I tend to always try and look at politics through a positive light, even though it is a very grim state of affairs indeed. As you have mentioned, we recently elected the most diverse congress. That is a huge step, because this is something that is getting us closer to better representing America as a whole in our Congress. To me, once America is fully represented in the most accurate ways in our Political Arena is when America will be most efficient. Whether that is 2 years from now, or never is up for debate. But i choose not to focus on what is ambiguous about the future, and choose to focus on what we have that is helping us, and how we can nurture that. As well as to focus what is hurting us now, and how can fix that. That is not to say that we should not think about the consequences of our actions in the long term because that is what the cause of many of our problems now are. -Derek van Thullenar
ReplyDeleteI think American political culture has changed immensely in the last 10 years. For those of you that were able to see Steve Kornacki’s speech last week, the rise of political tribalism since the 1990s has changed everything about how American politics works in general as well as how political parties interact with one another. I thought the 2008 election was polarizing, but I was not prepared for the tribalism that arose during the 2016 election, and I anticipate that the 2020 election will also be a very stressful time for many of us. I think the combination of the rise of political tribalism and the rise of Trump’s rhetoric has changed the precedent for how politicians will behave going forward, and I don’t know how we are supposed to combat that. The country is more divided than ever and the optimistic part of me hopes that we can find things in common to heal the nation but realistically I don’t know if this is possible.
ReplyDeleteLooking to the future I do feel some optimism. With the results of the last midterm election, electing the most diverse Congress, it is easy to see progress. The country will continue to become more and more diverse. I believe that in 2020, we will elect an even more diverse Congress, as more and more resentment from both parties builds up against Trump. As a nation, we should show that America is not Trump’s America, America is the land of the free and the home of the brave. An America that is inclusive and diverse, but united as one. Politically we need to address growing problems of discrimination and income inequality. More schools should be built instead of more prisons. More oversight over political campaign contributions is also important moving forward. It is important to know where the money is coming from for our elected officials. In 20 years, I hope that the country has made progress towards a more inclusive society that economically works for everyone.
ReplyDelete- Jeff Rios
The future certainly does not guarantee change.
ReplyDeleteAs the polarizing divides of American conflict wedged between us and them continue to increase, the promise of complete equality seems almost illusory. This grim outlook becomes particularly true once one considers the current power structures in place. We have seen the destruction and subsequent restructuring of societies for ages, and this cyclical nature of nations has perhaps been the only semblance of hope within our most troubled communities. (A struggling thread of hope, yes, but a thread nonetheless!)
Consequently, I’d argue that this cannot continue on for much longer. With the tense political climate, increasing class divide, and the ever-nearing climate-catastrophe, I predict there will be a major change soon. (We can even see this through major populist movements that have historically defined much of American political culture. These movements are coming to rise again with major political figures of change like Bernie and Trump)
On that note, the responsibility lies on us to guarantee this change.
The progression of history isn't linear but ultimately things do generally tend to improve as time goes on. Although the past 3 years have been full of polarization and seemingly endless amounts of scandals good things have come from it. One of those things being the midterm election in which we voted in the most diverse congress ever. I certainly believe that the trump administration has set political discourse as well as american progression back a bit but ultimately i believe that Americans will recover, and that the Trump presidency will serve as a wake up call to Americans and will bring issues that were previously not discussed under the limelight.
ReplyDeleteEmmanuel Valtierrez
During the Steve Kornacki event someone in the audience asked about his prediction on partisanship in the United States and whether the United States would remain polarized or if he saw a future where party lines didn’t really matter anymore. Kornacki felt pretty unsure about whether this could ever occur unless a national tragedy on the scale of 911 happened again. I have to agree with Kornacki. Right now, it feels like political parties are never going to agree with each other to better the interest of the majority of Americans but I also think that there has to be some optimism in the mix. American politics are going to change when we start to see new faces in congress willing to bargain with each other and the American people feel comfortable bargaining with each other as well. I feel pretty confident in that the United States (especially in Urban hubs) has become more welcoming of diversity and in furthering policies that benefit everyone not just political elites.
ReplyDelete-Karen Marin
I am optimistic about the future of our political culture. Although some may feel threatened because of our President, we have achieved great things since he has been elected: the most diverse Congress in the history of its existence, #MeToo movement, global awareness and support for migrants and refugees has increased. I believe Trump was a reaction to the liberal internationalism exemplified in the Obama years, and our most recent achievements have been reactions to Trump’s rhetoric and policies. I guess what I am trying to say is that I believe the pendulum is in motion and this is a natural fight to a more perfect union. As much as we disagree with the opposition, it’s because of them that we are so great. Without the outrage from the opposing side, there is not spark of activism; we help each other grow. However, I do acknowledge that this scenario would encourage further polarization. I don’t have an answer to that, I think it is inevitable because due to the two party system
ReplyDelete-Angelo D'Agostini
As we go into the future, I predict that America will continue to become more polarized. But I am very optimistic and hope that our country will become more diverse. Given the timeline, we can see how much our country has changed over the course of time. Just within this year there has been many changes made. This past midterm election we elected our most diverse congress ever. IIhan Omar became the first ever to wear a hijab in U.S. Congress. Rules were changed to allow Omar to wear a religious head covering on the floor of the house. Moving forward I would like see more changes like this being made. I would also like the government to make changes to our current immigration policies. I think immigration reform should be something that the government prioritizes.
ReplyDeleteAlthough at the moment, the United States is going through a rough patch and things do not look that hopeful, I remain optimistic. I hope that in twenty years time, we become less polarized and stop giving so much energy to hating the “other” party because you can be a democrat and be on the same page with republicans or with another party. I think that the Presidential Election in 2020 will set the precedent in how the political culture will change, if any. I also hope that Immigration laws change, hopefully drastically in say 10 years’ time at the most because it is something that is completely fracturing and shaping the United States that is now. Among this, I also hope that the minimum wages rises and less stigma is created whenever the issue is raised. When I saw the timeline, it brought things into perspective because things change for the better and there’s evidence to demonstrate that. Even if what I hope changes does change in 20 years, I hope that the change does come because we need it if we are going to call the nation: Land of the free and of opportunity, and also because change is long overdue.
ReplyDeleteI believe in the future the united states political culture is going to be very liberal. compared to the past, we have made drastic changes (segregated areas, abortion laws, LGBTQ law) I believe in the future the pattern is going to continue. In addition to having liberal views, I believe that there will be more opportunity for all class, race, gender. In the next 50 years, the American public and the government is going to be more diverse. I say this because we are having a lot of minorities entering the country and a increase of interracial couples.
ReplyDeleteClearly a lot has changed in the history of our country through major policies, movements and events that have shaped our political culture. Like some of my classmates I think that a lot of progress has been made towards justice, but we definitely need to do more specifically, in regards to education. Earlier in the quarter we read Education and Democracy: The United States of America as a Historical Case Study and it explained the different views on education and how they have changed over the years. This reading shows our inability to come to a consensus on how we should educate our youth. In the future I hope we can come to an agreement and work towards improving our public education system so everyone is able to have access to quality education regardless of class status, demographics, etc. I know this is a stretch and probably not likely anytime soon but in order to do this, I hope we do away with polarized politics and put improving education on everyone’s agenda.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I am not sure what the state of political culture in America will be looking forward. Due to the division within the United States, it's hard to predict what will happen. My hopes are that politics as a whole becomes more diverse (racially, ethnically, gender wise, sexual orientation wise, etc.) I believe that diversity is the key to the progression of the country. By having people that represent the diversity of the population, we will get insights and views from communities that have previously been ignored. Significant change is hard to make in American society, so I hope that by increasing diversity, change will come. Looking deep into the systemic issues that affect minorities is another huge task that needs to continue to be analyzed. The playing field needs to be leveled... in whatever way it can.
ReplyDeleteAvarie
I think that politically America must become more diverse. I believe the best way for this to happen is to rethink the drawing of congressional districts and the reallocation of congressional representatives to different parts of the United States. Currently I do not believe that the demographic of the U.S. government reflects the demographics of the United States. I believe that will only continue to change over the years and that we must continue to encourage women, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ community to take up leadership positions in our country. And I believe we are in a transitionary period where soon all of those things will become possible. That is part of why I believe the election field for the Democrats looks the way it does right now.
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