Michael Kasper

Mrs.Dougherty
AP Lang & Comp
5/6/2019

Division in Unity, Unity in Entropy

The United States of America: a re-birth of Athenian democracy, a renaissance of

politics, a force which ousted the archaic practices of the monarchy in favour of the
Republican Experiment. We have stood and prevailed, over the last ~300 years, over trials;
the likes of which had never been seen before. We gained independence from one of the
greatest powers of the 16th century; fought to keep it a second time; expanded to the edge of
the North American continent, securing our boundary to the Pacific Ocean; we fought
brother to brother, successfully keeping the union while ending the unjust practice of
slavery; we assisted the great powers of the World Wars, winning a victory for freedom and
democracy; we stared down the mutually assured destruction of the Cold War, and secured a
wavering peace. Throughout it all, and even now, we face a massive conundrum: the political
party system. Many believe that such a system has benefits; that keeping disunion could lead
to prosperity of the people: but that just isn’t what we’ve been seeing. The Republicans and
Democrats throw threats across the map to leave their mark on a nation of mindlessly
devout followers. The American Civil War plays on repeat throughout the polling screens,
campaigns, news broadcasts; even our phones reenact Antietam and Gettysburg. But this
isn’t only the repetitive nature of history; it can be attributed to the human psyche as well. As
we trudge on through our lives, the increasingly partisan nature of politics reflects the
tribalistic nature of human tendencies, and the effects that has on sensitive issues of the
modern eras. As such, steps should be taken to reduce, and ultimately abolish, partisan
governments and their party systems; creating “a more perfect union” amongst these United
States.
 Tribalism is defined as a “strong loyalty to one’s own tribe, party, or group”
(“Tribalism.”); often depicted among the savages of the ancient world, this idea exists
throughout society: we remain loyal to one side of an argument; we tend to live around
people we relate with; we lean towards opinions supported by our peers. Global politics
remain a prime example of this: a series of groups divided on ideas and beliefs regarding the
management of a nation; following their desired candidates, some of which don’t even get
put on the ballot, creating a greater amount of strife than necessary. As of May 2018, 32
ballot qualified parties exist within the United States: 5 of which are recognised in more than
10 states (Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Green, & Constitution parties) ("List"). Each
candidate in a group has their own distinct ideas and values, and each tries to pander to all
crowds, even those not among them, anticipating which demographic may support their
stance. This, more often than not, results in the aforementioned strife amongst similar
peoples. Consider the studies done by the Pew Research Centre: among the registered voting
population, 37% align with independent parties, 33% were democrats, and 26% were
republican (when the ‘lean’ is taken into account, 50% are democratic, and 42% are
republican.); another study asked male and female voters where they lean, and showed that
females were more likely to support a democratic candidate than a republican or
independent; and men showed an opposite trend: leaning towards independent candidates
over republicans or democrats. In a similar way, blacks, asians, and hispanics vote more
democratically than whites; those with more education tend to vote for democrats; and the
further away from the 1920s you go, the more democratic the voters become, not even taking
into account that this is just how they’d lean if there were no independent parties. (“1.
Trends”) This tells us that political structure isn’t as black and white as we try to portray it
as: these independent parties have, and could still, hold immense power (consider the Bull
Moose Party and Socialist Party, which swayed the election of 1912, handing the victory to
Woodrow Wilson); but remain divided amongst each other. It keeps sensitive issues
constantly on a tightwire of sorts, and the parties are often overlooked due to their
similarities of what seems like a two sided issue, even if it's not. Not only does it prevent
these other parties from getting a say, but also a regression into the politics of one’s self; as
Robert Reich, a Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley,
comments about in an article of his: “Nations are becoming less relevant in a world where
everyone and everything is interconnected. The connections that matter most are again
becoming more personal,” and “news and images move so easily across borders that attitudes
and aspirations are no longer especially national” (“The New” Reich). Both statements are
supported by the globalisation of nations through the internet: sites like Twitter and
Facebook become hotspots for international gatherings; international commerce and
broadcasting become mediums on which we connect; but globalisation leads to an
increasingly personalised network of bonds, and defeats the whole purpose of a nation state.
The people become small tribes in a massive network of billions, which gives rise to the
constant issue of minorities, discriminations, and people who remain like-minded to one
another, and too often unable to fully grasp a secondary perspective on an issue. According
to Amy Chua, a Professor of Law at Yale, this has a remedy; the creation of “super-groups.”
Such a system would help to break down the barriers set by tribalism, making America a
cultural melting pot, but not allowing for massive rifts among demographics: but that would
not necessarily work in an open, globalised system, as she states that cultures would be able
“to maintain distinct identities”. (“Can” Felton) The very idea of cultural identity leads to
tribalism, as similar people create groups of others like them: and the engenderment of
nationalism comes with its own issues, especially when used incorrectly. Take, for instance,
the suspension of rights in the U.S. during war: the Sedition Act of 1916 stated that any
person who, in any way criticised the government, the nation as a whole, or the cause being
fought for in WWI, or attempted to incite rebellion in favour of the enemy would receive a
penalty of no less than $10000 and/or 20 years in prison (“The Supreme”). Such a law comes
about in order to protect the public, but often times it has to take away rights so that people
remain complacent, and aligned to the collective vision of the nation; it is a step in the right
direction, but too many people would remain dissatisfied for it to work long-term, in a way
comparable to Communism or Fascism. An alternative to this is to slowly integrate parties
into their own giant collective, and allow it to give way towards individualistic tendencies; in
a closed system like this, the people would need to make more objective decisions on the
future of the nation, instead of blindly following a candidate; and it could work, but would
make nations into tribes of their own; almost completely defeating the purpose of the
system. The next logical step is to unite the world into its own “tribe”, and completely break
down cultural barriers: this is the exact issue in regards to the unity of countries, as Robert
Reich mentions. But the cultural identity of each group differs greatly, and would challenge
the unity of a global collective; it needs a reason to exist, one that the people just don’t have.
But, in viewing models of market socialism, there is some hope to change the status quo;
while this solution requires the disassembly of certain aspects of free enterprise, and the
retooling of governments around the world to accommodate such a drastic change, it could,
and likely would, help in breaking down these cultural barriers; we treat people as equals,
free to be themselves; the government regulates industrial practices, while the people
regulate businesses and municipalities. While this is only a basic rundown of the system, it
could potentially lead to a lesser geopolitical mess than what our government currently
presents to us.

The idea of tribalism is integrated deep into our society; and it will most likely remain
rooted there until we can find or create a reason for global unity. We can become a united
people, the face of a human society, with a collective history, comprehensive language, and
integrated culture, but it is of human nature to both conform and rebel against conformity,
and as such, humans are attracted towards those who are like them, and in politics, this
remains one of the most prevailing ideas of society. With its flawed reasoning it keeps us
blinded, helpless to it’s grasp on our minds, unable to resist its pull. We must, if society is to
continue, remove this wedge that divides us, and seek to create, in the words of several
national leaders, “a more perfect union”; fit for many generations onward. And even if this
means the disassembly and reconfiguration of global politics, it would be in our best
interests, in order to ensure the survival of our species.
 Works Cited

“1. Trends in Party Affiliation among Demographic Groups.”

Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, Pew Research Center for the
People and the Press, 18 Sept. 2018, www.people-press.org/2018/03/20/1-trends-in-
party-affiliation-among-demographic-groups/.

"List of Political Parties in the United States." Ballotpedia.org. 2018. 07 May 2019
<https://ballotpedia.org/List_of_political_parties_in_the_United_States>.

“Tribalism.” Dictionary.com, Dictionary.com, 2019, www.dictionary.com/browse/tribalism.

Felton, Lena. “Can America Survive Tribalism?” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 1
June 2018, www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/05/amu-chua-tribalism/561662/.

Reich, Robert B. “The New Tribalism and the Decline of the Nation State.” Robert Reich, 24
Mar. 2014, robertreich.org/post/80522686347.

“The Supreme Court . Capitalism and Conflict . Primary Sources | PBS.” THIRTEEN,
www.thirteen.org/wnet/supremecourt/capitalism/sources_document1.html.