US Political Polarization: Republicans and Democrats

US Political Polarization: Republicans and Democrats Partisanship has always existed in the United States. Though, there have been periods of decline and resurgence. But since the 1970s America has seen an increase in â€Å"party unity† votes in Congress. From 2009 to 2012 party unity votes was around 70%, a clear indication of polarization in Washington.[1] The ideological differences that exist within Congress is also indicative of the attitude of the general public. A majority of people are willing to call themselves Democrats or Republicans. â€Å"Party identification, like other attitudes, affects beliefs as well as opinions.†[2] Party affiliation is a significant tool to predict tendencies of voters, those that associate themselves with the Republican Party tend to vote Republican and those associated with the Democratic Party tend to vote Democrat. Presidential performance ratings are indication of polarization amongst the parties. Republicans tend to give a higher approval rating for Republicans and lower rating f or Democrats, and the opposite is true for Democrats.[3] Elections and politics in America have become more polarized than ever before. The foundation that created a more polarized America can be found in the changes in the media, campaign financing, and the way candidates are elected. The history of news media is one of an evolution of technology, practices, and regulatory environments that transformed the views of America. Years ago, the choices for Americans to get their news were limited to a few TV networks and local newspapers. The government instituted regulations over the broadcast news, such as the equal time provision-which required stations to provide equal access to candidates for office. The long standing FCC policy called the fairness doctrine perhaps was the most impactful in broadcast news. The policy created a condition in which news outlets were not targeting distinct core beliefs. Instead, the policy â€Å"required that stations devote a share of airtime to public affairs programming, and that they do so in a manner that is balanced and equitable.† [4] So essentially, people received the similar information at the same time. In the past the national news was delivered by few weekly papers but technological advances brought a great potentia l market of viewers. The introduction of cable and internet made mass communication easier and cheaper. In 2010, nearly every household in America had access to either: radio, television, and at least one mobile device.[5] Americans enjoy a greater variety of view points, and this abundance of new implies political polarization can occur. Consumers of new media rely on news source they find as reliable and tend to avoid information that contradicts their prior beliefs. Fox news a conservative news outlet has a high believability percentage among Republicans (77% in 2012) and a low believability percentage among Democrats (37% in 2012).[6] Liberal media outlets have a similar ratings, high believability among Democrats and low believability among Republicans. It is safe to assume those with conservative beliefs are more likely to tune into a conservative media outlet and those with liberal views are more likely to tune into a liberal media outlet. These media outlets provide a common narrative on current events, a narrative that is suited for their audience. The audiences in turn are being told what they want to hear. And with the capabilities of the internet, the media outlets are able to target specific audiences and tailor information to reinforce what they already believe. This abundance of new outlets and targeting by the media contributes to political polarization. Modern campaigns for federal office are generally very expensive. Assembling campaign teams, raising funds, hiring consultants and technical specialists are all activities that cost money. There is no way for most candidates to organize and run a competitive campaign without the flow of money. Currently, money spent on major federal campaigns comes from private sources.[7] Money coming in from private sources raises a couple of problems in elections. Money is distributed unequally, so it threatens democratic equality, meaning, someone with more money could have more influence on the outcome. This also raises the concern that elected officials are more willing to serve their contributors than their constituents. This is entirely possible and could lead to elected officials taking more extreme positions on issues in order to please their contributors. For its part the federal government has stepped in to regulate the flow of campaign financing, creating the FEC to enforce law and to co llect and publish detailed information on campaign contributions. A 2010 Supreme Court decision banned all limits on independent spending led to the creation of SuperPACs. SuperPacs are essentially independent committees pushing their own agenda to support a candidate or attack a candidate. Unfortunately, candidates have no control over the SuperPACs and how they spend their money. Nearly $1.3 billion was spent independently on federal campaigns by parties and PACs in 2012.[8] The money generated by the SuperPACS is mostly spent to purchase television adverstising. In 2012, over 3 million political ads aired from January 1 through Election Day.[9] There was a substantial increase in volume and cost of political ads from 2008 to 2012 and a substantial increase in attack ads from 51% of ads aired in 2008 were attack ads to 61% in 2012.[10] At the same time, nonparty independent expenditures in congressional elections grew from $120 million in 2008 to $500 million in 2012.[11] Perhaps there is a correlation between attack ads and raising campaign funds. A campaigns ability to demonize an opponent, which provokes fear and anger among his constituents, is enough to motivate the candidate’s base to donate and turn out to vote. Polarization in Congress is not new. The extent of Congressional polarization depends on many factors, one being Primary Elections. Elections in Primaries differ than those in a general election. In Primary elections candidates tend to shift their positions either to the left or right end of the spectrum. Once they secured their party’s nomination, they shift their position to a more moderate position to attract independent voters. Candidates follow this method of campaigning because Primary constituents are more extreme than those in a general election.[12] Elections in the America preserves American democracy. Allowing citizens to pick their representatives and replace those that under performed. â€Å"The threat of replacement provides elected officials with a powerful incentive to listen to their constituents.†[13] Some voters may punish representatives that make an unpopular vote on issues by replacing him with another representative. This competition in primaries help create polarization within Congress.[14] When faced with competition in the primary election candidates tend to take extreme positions. Republicans candidates that face no competition/opponent had an average primary position .77 and those that encountered an opponent had an average primary position of .85[15], a position further from the center. This is because primary voters care more about a candidate’s positions than the general election voting base. The 2010 Tea Party phenomenon is an example of extreme and engaged primary constituents. The Tea Party movement knocked mainstream conservatives out of the picture, which in turn, hurt the Republican Party in the general election because of their extreme positions. The extremism and activism that exists in primary elections contributes to the political polarization in America. The ideological divide between Republicans and Democrats, Conservatives and Liberals is real. Polarization is not only present in the branches of government but also among the people. The political system that has been created has contributed greatly to the growth of polarization. The foundations can be traced back to the media’s influence over the public, financing of campaigns and the manner in which the public selects representatives. [1] Barry Burden, â€Å"The Polarizing Effects of Congressional Primaries,† in Galderisi et al. (eds.),  CONGRESSIONAL PRIMARIES AND THE POLITICS OF REPRESENTATION (2001). [2] (KJKV).pg.466. [3] (KJKV).Pg. 447 [4] (KJKV).pg. 629 [5] (KJKV).pg. 640 – It is entirely possible that despite having a mobile phone, the device may not be able to surf the Web, which limits the potential information sharing in that household. [6] (KJKV).pg. 638 [7] (KJKV).pg. 508 [8] (KJKV).pg. 511 [9] Erika Franklin Fowler and Travis N. Ridout, â€Å"Negative, Angry, and Ubiquitous: Political Advertising in  2012† [10] Erika Franklin Fowler and Travis N. Ridout, â€Å"Negative, Angry, and Ubiquitous: Political Advertising in 2012† [11] (KJKV).pg. 510 [12] Gary C. Jacobson, â€Å"The Electoral Origins of Polarized Politics: Evidence From the 2010 Cooperative  Congressional Election Study.† American Behavioral Scientist 56(12) 1612–1630. [13] (KJKV)Pg. 521 [14] Barry Burden, â€Å"The Polarizing Effects of Congressional Primaries,† in Galderisi et al. (eds.),  CONGRESSIONAL PRIMARIES AND THE POLITICS OF REPRESENTATION (2001). [15] Barry Burden, â€Å"The Polarizing Effects of Congressional Primaries,† in Galderisi et al. (eds.),  CONGRESSIONAL PRIMARIES AND THE POLITICS OF REPRESENTATION (2001).

Isolation in Bartleby the Scrivener :: Bartleby Scrivener Essays

Isolation in Bartleby the Scrivener "I prefer not to," "I prefer not to," tells the reader about Bartleby isolating himself. The phrase shows his lack of involvement, another form of isolation. The narrator tells the reader exactly what he did to Bartleby, very vividly, as shown below. In the novella, the author tells the reader, down to the smallest detail, what he did to Bartleby to isolate him from the world. He tells us in this passage, "I placed his desk close up to a small side window in that part of the room, a window which originally had afforded a lateral view of certain grimy backyards, and bricks, but which, owning to insubsequent erections, commanded at present, no view at all, though it gave some light. Within three feet of the panes was a wall, and the light came down from far above between two lofty buildings, as from a very small opening in a dome. Still further to satisfactory arrangement, I procured a green folding screen, which might entirely isolate Bartleby from my sight, t hough, not remove him from my voice." The quotation describes how the narrator secludes Bartleby from society. Even his window, usually a form of escape, results in Bartleby being trapped behind another wall, thus reinforcing his total isolation. The irony lies in the fact that the narrator, while trying to isolate Bartleby, becomes affected by it, so much so that he appears almost human. Instead of dismissing him on the spot for refusing to copy, proofread or leave the premises, he tries to find other employment for him, and even considers inviting him to live in his residence as his guest. The narrator develops before our eyes into a caring person, very different from the cold, unsympathetic person at the beginning of the story. "To befriend Bartleby, to humor him in his strange willfulness, will cost me little or nothing, while I lay up in my soul what will eventually prove a sweet morsel for my conscience." The narrator would normally befriend Bartleby or any othe r "sucker," but Bartleby has given him a conscience. The narrator has realized that a common blemish in a person does not determine the person. In the beginning of the novella, the narrator only cared about his work, but now he realizes that people have a life outside of work, except Bartleby.

Religion plays Essay

The monster, as the Professor realised before he pursued the project, has the potential inside him to be so overwhelmingly good, almost angelic, which is shown through the natural instinct to help the family he stays with, but the monster also possesses the potential to take up mostly evil actions, for example, when he murders young Willy as revenge for Frankenstein making him the way he did and creating how he is to live his as an outsider. The monster has no identity; he is precariously composed of disfigured limbs and organs; no part of the body belongs to him as a person- all the personalities are mingled and therefore, Frankenstein’s monster cannot be described as an individual mind or body. As a result of being made up of so many different body parts- intelligent, criminal, thief- he has many different interchangeable personalities, which all come as natural to him. The monster is ugly, there’s no other word for it; his appearance is horrific, people hide and cringe at the sight of it, but there is the possibility for the monster to be loved by the human race. This is proven in the circumstances wherein the blind man makes friends with the monster, and therefore appearance does not matter, only the person inside; the monster can be loved although on the outside he is ugly, different and unnatural. It is partly the monster’s fault that he ends up being hated by everyone, although Frankenstein holds most of the blame. He went against the Professor’s will through using his notes and didn’t consider the dangerous consequences that come of meddling with God and nature. He made a creature that had no say in how he was created before he was brought to life, it was brought into the world without consent and the monster cannot retaliate or control the consequences. He has to live a life of rejection as a result of his uncontrollable appearance, the main reason of hatred for him. The monster, often unintentionally for these were his natural reactions; part of his personality, inflicts the hatred upon himself. He undergoes deeds considered as demonic, but as revenge, a natural instinct. There are many moral issues throughout the story, the strongest being that, all the innocent people are the ones who die, they are conquered by evil. Elizabeth, Justine and Willy are all murdered unjustly, whereas the monster lives for longer and provokes the murders. Another is that, Captain Walton, although having an obsession for reaching the North Pole, abandons his voyage after hearing Frankenstein’s story. Religion plays a large part in Frankenstein, God is referred to several times, for example, when Victor has an argument at university, he is said to be meddling with God and nature through the experiment. Also religion is represented when the monster is thought to be dead and rises in the chains to symbolise the crucifixion of Jesus. Here is a symbolic reading at Victor’s death, â€Å"God judges everything, good and bad, but also creates evil beings.† The whole film was quite confusing and the cyclical narrative at the beginning enhanced this so I was often left pondering over what was happening. I thought that, although there were many changes to the original storyline, for example, when Elizabeth is brought back to life in the film and not in the book, this version was a suitable adaptation and flowed very well, enhanced by the excellent special effects.

Start An Exercise Program After Leading A Somewhat...

Have you ever decided to start an exercise program after leading a somewhat sedentary lifestyle? If so, you probably have experienced the feeling of lactic acid build up. Consider an individual with no prior exercise experience who decides to train for a 5k foot race. On the first bout of exercise, the person performs a simple walk/run combination for 20 minutes. At the onset of the walk/run, the body does well; breathing is deep, effort is easy and pace is consistent. However, 5 minutes into the walk/run session, the individual perceives a noticeable difference in breathing, which has become shallow and fast paced. Five more minutes pass and subject is now quite winded and tenderness can be felt in the calf and lower back muscles. As the person continues to complete the 20 minute session, breathing becomes extremely labored and the exercise pace has slowed to a complete walk. Since the subject had no prior experience with exercise, the exertion level was likely higher than t he energy production and oxygen transportation within the body. At the time the person noticed labored breathing and muscle aches, the body was providing feedback to functioning in oxygen deficit, also commonly referred to as lactic acid build up or delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS.) DOMS is a more commonly used term because after exercise there is a delay anywhere from a few hours to a few days of soreness in the exercised muscles. Lactic acid build up occurs most often in untrainedShow MoreRelatedHealth: Heart Disease Essay example1398 Words   |  6 PagesHow much does my heart rate change after running in place for 10 minutes? Introduction The leading cause of death in the US is heart disease and the fourth leading cause of death in the US is stroke. Both are related to the heart. Both can be prevented (or at least somewhat alleviated) by engaging in exercise. 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