As the last posting stated,
this blog is now concerned with the current polarization of the national
political landscape. The divides facing
the citizenry can be detected on many fronts.
Regularly, Americans have been divided, to varying degrees of intensity,
along political party lines. Political
parties can be traced back to the origins of the government. Then the split was between the Federalists
and the Democratic-Republicans.
Currently, the popular musical, Hamilton, can give the reader an
overview of that division.
But, as the last posting indicated, the division today
seems significantly more intense, one in which socializing with those of the
other side has become an issue.
Political party division is but one factor or area upon which one can
find polarization taking place. One
research group that has looked into this arena has been the Pew Research
Center. The reader is encouraged to look
up their various reports concerning this and other issues that the Center has
investigated. It basically conducts
survey research projects into these contemporary issues.
This posting, in reporting the writer’s research into
polarization, shares one such report.[1] That report was issued just the other day,
June 25. It looks at one example of this
divide, how Democrats and Republicans view various aspects of the coronavirus
pandemic. This posting will share a
sample of Pew’s findings in relation to six more specific issues – how do members
of each party feel about how those issues should be considered or treated by
government or the people?
First, here are some of the particulars of the study. Pew conducted a national survey from June 16-25. The survey questioned 4,708 adults through
the Center’s American Trends Panel.
Here, the study gives the reader an indication of how the citizenship is
divided in one area of concern. Guiding
this posting’s effort is to see if the writer can garner information as to the
nature of the reputed polarization many have reported and is but one attempt to
garner a better understanding at what is causing Americans to be so at odds.
The
last posting introduced the reader to a journalist, Ezra Klein, and his
recently published book that offers a comprehensive overview of the divide.[2] With this posting, the writer is sharing with
the reader a “progress report” of the writer’s efforts to research this
topic. What follows is arranged in
relation to six “issues” that the Pew report identifies. The Pew findings are merely listed without
much commentary by this blogger.
Issue 1: Has the COVID 19 crisis
turned the corner, allowing for more normal times?
· 61% of Republicans and Republican leaning independents believe the
“worse is behind us” and 38% believe “the worse is still to come” (56% believed
this latter opinion in April);
· 23% of Democrats and Democratic leaning independents believe the
“worse is behind us” and 76% believe it is “still to come” (87% believed this
latter opinion in April).
Issue 2: General Concern
over Coronavirus – how has the spreading of the disease taken place?
· 62% of Americans are fearful of having been instrumental in spreading
the disease (30% very concerned); 51% are concerned they will get the disease
and require hospitalization (24% very concerned).
· 45% of Republicans are concerned about unknowingly spreading the
disease or contracting it; 35% of Republicans worry about contracting it and
needing hospitalization; in April, 58% worried about unknowingly spreading the
disease and 47% worried about contracting it.
· 77% of Democrats are very or somewhat concerned they will spread
disease and 64% of getting the disease.
· From April until June, blacks’ concern about individually spreading
the disease is up 8 points (from 64% to 72%).
· During that time, whites’ concern about individually spreading the
disease is down 8 points (from 65% to 56%).
Issue 3: What is the impact
of ordinary Americans’ behavior in spreading the disease?
· 87% of Americans believe actions of ordinary Americans have a great
or fair impact on how the disease spreads;
· 59% believe that impact is great, 73% of Democrats believe this impact
exists to a great degree; 44% of Republicans agree.
Issue 4: To what degree do
people feel comfortable with “opening” the economy?
·
44% of Americans feel comfortable
eating out in a restaurant (22% in mid-March); 79% feel comfortable going to a
hospital (57% in mid-March); currently, 65% of Republicans feel comfortable eating
at a restaurant vs. 28% of Democrats (in mid-March: 29% of Republicans vs. 16% of Democrats felt
that way).
·
18% of Americans feel
comfortable attending a crowded party (that breaks down to 31% of Republican
and 8% of Democrats); 23% feel comfortable attending indoor sporting event or
concert.
·
53% of Americans feel comfortable
at a hair salon or barber shop; 77% feel comfortable entertaining family and
friends at home; 79% feel comfortable going the grocery store. In each of these Republicans and Republican
leaners feel comfortable at a higher rate than Democrats and Democrat leaners
(widest span exists in terms of going to hair salons and barber shops) – actual
percentage amount not listed.
Issue 5. To what degree has the disease affected the economy?
·
General assessment of the economy
in January was 57% believed it was excellent or good, in April and June this
positive assessment was/is shared by 25% of those surveyed. In these later surveys, 46% of Republicans
find the economy excellent or good; only 9% of Democrats agree.
· Republicans are much less likely to see the continuance of government
stimulus is necessary as compared to April; Democrats continue to see a
stimulus as necessary. 71% of Americans favor a new stimulus package is needed
(beyond $2 trillion already enacted), down from 77% in April, the decrease has
come entirely among Republicans; 51% of Republicans still say it will be
necessary, 47% say it will not be needed (66% in April said it was needed). Democrats
overwhelmingly continue to believe additional economic stimulus is needed (that’s
87%, unchanged since April).
Issue 6. How do Americans
feel about other government aid?
·
88% of Americans support
helping homeowners, renters, and businesses.
This includes large numbers in both parties.
·
91% of Democrats support
helping state and local government, 58% of Republicans agree; overall 58% support
that assistance.
·
77% of Democrats favor
extending unemployment benefits ($600/week), 39% of Republicans agree; overall,
60% of Americans support the extension.
·
53% of Americans (in both
parties) favor temporary cut in workers’ Social Security and Medicare taxes
to help in meeting problems associated with the coronavirus outbreak.
Pew Research Center
characterized these findings with the following summary statement:
In every case, the
differences between Republicans’ and Democrats’ levels of comfort far exceeds
other demographic and even geographic differences. Across all six items, the
average partisan gap in levels of comfort is nearly twice as big as the gap
between whites and nonwhites and is far larger than the gap between men and
women, those living in urban and rural communities, and the gap between younger
and older Americans.
Americans’ level of
comfort with each of these activities has risen across the board since the
middle of March, when many states began to implement stay-at-home orders and
other measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus.[3]
As these words are written, the virus pandemic seems to have taken
an even more dire projection. As of this
date, the national rate of infection has hit 50,000 per day and a reputable
government expert warned that that number can reach 100,000 per day. This increase is being experienced in many of
the Western states generally considered “red” states. Whether this trend will affect the responses
of future surveys, time will tell.
If party
affiliation accounts for so much of how people feel, this tendency further
politicizes how Americans face the challenges the disease poses on them. One should remember, party identification is but
shorthand for an array of feelings concerning issues the nation deals with at a
given time and if divisions can be associated with that identity, divisions are
further legitimized in the hearts of citizens.
[1] “Republicans, Democrats Move Even Further Apart in
Coronavirus Concerns,” Pew Research Center, June 25, 2020, accessed July
2, 2020, https://www.people-press.org/2020/06/25/republicans-democrats-move-even-further-apart-in-coronavirus-concerns/ .
[3]
“Republicans, Democrats Move Even Further Apart
in Coronavirus Concerns,” Pew Research Center.
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