Who thinks that this applies to the United States today??

Question

"A house divided against itself cannot stand." I am not interested in Democrats versus Republican answers. I am interested in answers from people who think that we as a "house" Nation are becoming divided against ourselves and why you think that this is true for today or not.

Excellent response Gills you have the sense of the idea I am asking about.

Excellent Mr Peachy thanks.

Actually I agree Fred but I don't think that we have any candidate that meets that need either Democrat or Republican.

Answer 1

Yes, it's true. But I don't think it's one bit different today than it has been in the past. There will always be differences between factions in this country. That's what makes it what it is.

If you think we're all that divided, just wait until the next terrorist attack or other disaster that comes along. People tend to think a little differently when they're threatened. Petty stuff like political differences go right out the window when survival instincts kick in.

Answer 2

2 things:
1.) The media. The media tends to report things that might make you think things are one way or the other, depending upon their leaning. That is, they give us the impression that things are divisive in the government, to whatever degree is true, they may exaggerate a bit for effect (which they hope will equate into ratings). You need to take ecerything you hear or see in the media with a grain of salt, because sometimes they paint things to be worse than they are. That being said, I would expect and hope for dissension in our government- what would happen if everyone agreed with eachother all of the time?
2.) Activisim versus complacency. You rarely see people march or speak out when everything in their life is at an acceptable level. However, when a minority feels they are being slighted in some way, they speak out. The manner in which they do this is generally loud (or as loud as they can make their voice heard).

In sum, to answer your question, our house is always divided, but that doesn't necessarily imply it is a bad thing. What has made us successful as US citizens, is acceptance. We accept that there are differences among us all. But we must believe and agree on certain principles- life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness (in general) and belief in police and fire protection, education, and garbage pickup (specific issues that address our needs).
We are not becoming divided as people- I think it's how the media portrays things. Remember, they have to get you to watch so advertisers will pay their salaries and make profits for their shareholders. They try to make it more interesting by painting Americans against each other sometimes.

Answer 3

I think this is very true. Many politicians talk about crossing the aisle but they still don't do it. I think that we have divided against our selves on so many issues. This war, no one can decide what the middle ground would be. Everyone is saying we want the troops to come home, but no one is satisfied with how it is getting done. I think that overall, looking at it from either side, the two parties have become so polarized that they can't see to stay connected anymore. Everyone wants to be right and everyone wants to take a stand, but if each half of a roof stands tall and strong, the house wont get covered because they aren't focussing on meeting in the middle..

Answer 4

i think of our policies are ok, however the enforcement song checklist isn't ok...they exceeded a blanket amnesty in 1986, and promised that there'd be extra advantageous border enforcement, which by no potential quite worked out. i've got confidence that it quite is a tremendously important subject, if we permit unlawful immigration bypass on, that is going to finally end up reshaping the country in a damaging way...and a pair of a protracted time from now, discover ourselves wishing like now that we'd quite sat down and found out a thank you to handle the whole mess some time past while it became an much less complicated situation...

Answer 5

any healthy state needs a variety of opinions in order to make good decisions, and in order to allow one set of views to keep the others accountable ....

Look at what happens when there is no "opposition" - Hitler, Mussolini, Castro ....

However when there are only two views polarisation can be an issue and the success of Tony Blair was to find a third way from the two that existed.....

In the US it is SO expensive to get national recognition, no ownder no 3rd party can get visibility. What happened to Nader,

bye from Europe

Answer 6

Sounds like I am answering a homework question for you..........I think the US is becoming more divided and I see that in more ways than one but it sticks out to me as far as poor people vs wealthy people. The old add-age the rich get richer while the poor get poorer. So many are without health care, so many children going to bed hungry at night but you still hear how the wealthy are getting tax cuts.

Answer 7

Yes, I am a democrat, however, I have seen SHARP divides between republican and democrats. Terrible really. Yes, there is a divide in this country between rich and poor, politcal party, and all sorts of ethnic groups. This makes me very sad. The next president must be a 'uniter'.

Answer 8

this is not an accidental phenomena, the government and the press ,which is becoming more and more under the control of the central government(fox's tony snow as press secratary)
wants to divide americans along political,ethnic,economic, or
religiouslines in order to more effectively control our opinions.
the more we point fingers at one another the less attention we pay to the actions of the people in power.
the constitution was designed to protect we the people from big government.
instead through amendments and misinterpretations it is now a tool of the ruling class to control the masses.
this is why i am so fond of the slogan"i love my country ,but fear my government"

Answer 9

I think it'll hurt us eventually. There's so much gridlock that nothing can get done. How can we be effective in solving our problems when there's so much infighting and political mudslinging? It used to be just at election time but now it's ALL the time!!!

Answer 10

i think these ideas have culminated in the saying "we are the best country in the world; love it or get out." (there is a billboard as you enter west virginia from the north). we are all SO set in our own ideas that we can't 'live and let live'; we are trying to force every one else to feel the same way we do... and that isn't going to happen. so essentially, that billboard says "feel the same way i do or shut up". we, as a nation, need to learn how to compromise or it will be the end of us.