ENG 101
Section 1 (20-23) : At first it was normal for different voters to live nearby to each other but things seemed to quickly change after each election.
( Many people began to notice a change in small communities. Jo Morgan explained that even though she moved several times in her life she is now noticing a change when she started to feel disconnected to her community and untitled to her own opinions. Towns were now being divided because of politics. In 1976 a county in Washington had split nearly 50/50 in the race between Jimmy Carter & Gerald ford, within the next 3 elections 68% voted for Bush.. The communities were becoming separated. The reason people began to feel“out of place” in their communities was because they felt politically different from others surrounding them).
Section 2 (23-25): “Parties represent a way of life.” Bill Bishop summarizes that each party is sorted by your own type of people, it just feels right to you. (23)
(In order to pick your party you have to ask yourself several simple questions. “Which one is filled with people that you identify yourself with,” or “ Which ones would you like to have your son/daughter marry?” The party of your choice just feels right, similar to picking neighborhoods to live in. Around 2005 Americans slowly sorted themselves into homogenous communities based on political officials. In the past members from both parties mingles, traded vote and swapped confidences; these days thats rare. Only about 8% lay in the “moderate middle” of politics these days.
Section 3 (25-28): Growing differences between Americans has caused a rumor of “polarization” between the people and global issues causing deep separations.
Morris Fiorina states that Americans aren’t separated at a deep level but simply closely divided from the uncertainty of the people to be able to choose a side. Many people are nervous about making a commitment to a higher political side. Fiorina also says that journalists who cover politics should not just get the opinions of the big shots in power, but go to chain stores and ask normal people the same questions and get a new view of the issues. He has been criticized by Alan Abramowitz that he has “systematically understated the significance” of the polarization issue. Election results recently showed that the gap between American opinions has gotten deeper. Instead of bell curve with most people in the middle like Fiorina predicted, the results show a sharp V with most people strongly Left or Right winged.
Section 4: Politicians are known to change voting districts in their favor, using
either Gerrymandering or the harsher conspiracy method.
(Polarized politics are also a recent issued, and one of the most popular
is Gerrymandering. Politicians are known to create districts where
supporters are overwhelming for a certain candidate. Lopsided voting is
blamed on the politicians. Strong propaganda and money used by Republicans
moved America to the far right at one point. Congressional districts have
changed through the years thanks to Gerrymandering, but arguments against
claim that sides that are too aggressive don't do as well. They also found
few changes in districts over time. Smaller states seem to have less of
a problem with the issue. Politicians needed more support, so they began
rumors of conspiracy.)
Section 5: Bill Bishop describes how the Democrats believe that the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections of George Bush were part of a Republican conspiracy.
(Democratic liberals unearthed a document written by Lewis Powell in 1971 which warned of an “attack” on the “free enterprise system.” Former democratic senator Bill Bradley said the document was a “blueprint” whose purpose was to support a Republican leader. Mark Schmitt, who is the former director of policy at the liberal Open Society Institute, argued that there was “no plan” and that it was mostly people “writing their own memos” and that there was no real conspiracy. Bishop went on to argue that the division between political parties cannot be attributed solely to conspiracies and “manipulation,” but that people naturally group towards people who think and have the same values as them.
Section 6 (35-40): In the past, geography has had a profound effect on peoples’ political views, and due to the mixing of the work populations, people’s views were diverse. Over time, people have grouped with others with the same economic assets and the diversity has diminished.
(Bishop references the political scientist John Fenton when mentioning an event in the 1960s in Ohio in which the working class voters supported Republicans. This went directly “against their economic interest.” Fenton went on to say that this could be because of the way the towns of Ohio were set up geographically. While the upper-class voters all lived in “compact communities” , the working class was dispersed among these upper class communities, so that their views became entwined with those of the of the class higher than their own. Bishop goes on to say that the sort “didn’t happen by accident”. He suggests that we have become so connected with people that have only the same views as us, that we have alienated ourselves from other communities and views. Because we are surrounded by people with the same ideas as us, it’s hard to conceive that people with different opinions might be “just a few miles away.”)
Thesis?: “We are living with the consequences of this segregation by way of life: pockets of like-minded citizens that have become so ideologically inbred that we don’t know, can’t understand, and can barely conceive of ‘those people’ who live just a few miles away.”
Thesis?: In the first chapter of The Big Sort, Bill Bishop portrays the violence and major separating that has been occurring across America because of political views.
Thesis?: “The social transformation didn’t happen by accident. We have built a country where everyone can choose he neighborhood most compatible with his or her lifestyle and beliefs (40).”
Thesis?: “Politics, markets, economies, culture, and religion have all moved along the same trajectory, from fragmentation in the nineteenth century to conglomerations in the twentieth century to segmentation today (37).”
