CULTURE WAR

Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized America

Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized America

About Author

Morris P. Fiorina is a higher-ranking associate at Hoover Institution and the Wendt Family Professor of Political Science at Stanford University. He is a specialist in elections, public opinion, and the U.S. Congress. He focuses on legislative and electoral procedures with stress on the ways in which political associations and events facilitate or alter the representation of citizen preferences. Fiorina has also published numerous articles and books on national politics.

About the Book

In his book “Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized America”, the author combines survey data with a compelling narrative to dispel the myths commonly believed about American politics, particularly the claim that Americans are deeply divided in their fundamental political views.

Morris Fiorina takes aim at the contention that there is a culture war in America , that our society is badly divided and polarized so that we are rapidly falling into two competing camps ready to do battle with one another . The idea that a culture war is raging in America is a staple of certain media outlets, especially AM talk radio, where the likes of Michael Savage, and Rush Limbaugh on the right , and Thom Hartman , Randi Rhodes , and Al Franken of left-leaning Air America constantly sound alarms , crying that whichever barbarians they dread are about to storm the temple . Using sophisticated sampling data, Fiorina shows that the American public holds a range of diverse opinions, but finds that instead of being increasingly polarized, the American public has generally been moving to the center of the political spectrum on many issues.

Answer 1:

“There is a religious war going on in this country, a cultural war as critical to the kind of nation we shall be as the Cold War itself, for this war is for the soul of America.” (Fiorina, 2004).After the notorious events of 9/11, the terrorism become the hot topic in the whole world including America and America always wanted to the fear of terrorism and the determination to react it in order to eliminate the terrorism. The print media as well as other communication channels spread the fear of terrorism not only in America but also around the globe and it therefore permeates many aspects of American life.

Answer 2:

After the 2000 elections, it was claimed that the harsh national division of standard fare has taken place and some critics openly challenged them. The high level politicians believed that the nation is fractured. The red states get redder, the blue states get bluer, and the political map of the United States takes on the coloration of the Civil War. For the 2004 election critics said that there was a continuation of the culture war. The national election of 2008 continued the culture wars as Democratic candidate Barack Obama had become the first elected African president of America. The election increased the Democrats' majority in both the House of Representatives and the ...