By Juliana Vasquez | Staff Writer
On the eve of the Baylor-TCU game, the matchup brings up memories of other iconic rivalries within our nation. Flat-earthers and round-earthers, pineapple pizza lovers and haters and Republicans and Democrats.
Although most of these rivalries are just fun instances of competition between two groups, Baylor and TCU fans aren’t competing against each other to see who wins the legislative process of America’s nation. The political rivalry between America’s leading political parties is as intense as it is historical, and that intensity is only ramping up. Political polarization impacts the efficiency of our government, with extreme circumstances leading to a government shutdown, as is happening right now.
A July study from the Pew Research Center found that 8-in-10 American adults said that Republican and Democratic voters can’t seem to agree on anything, from policies to facts.
Dr. Patrick Flavin, chair of the political science department, said political polarization is generally split between two groups: policy and affective polarization.
“[Throughout] the entirety of American history, there have been intense political debates … but we’re the most polarized now than we’ve ever been,” Flavin said.
Flavin attributes this to a decrease in the number of moderate Republicans and Democrats.
“Now Republicans are uniformly conservative, [and] Democrats [are] uniformly liberal in Congress. We’ve seen the same extent [of] that happening among the public as well,” Flavin said.
Politically polarized societies have difficulty passing legislation, which further leads to animosity between the two parties, Flavin said.
“There’s less room for compromise, and we can see that playing out as we speak of the ongoing government shutdown … there’s less productivity [and] there’s less of a response addressing problems [within] the government,” Flavin said.
Jackson, Miss., senior Anne Barret Roberson said the parties should understand that at the end of the day, everyone’s trying to solve the same problems.
“We should work harder to find common ground on issues because usually people face similar problems but just disagree on solutions … not every issue has to be seen in black and white,” Roberson said.
Compromise is key to preventing government shutdowns and allowing legislation to pass that benefits American citizens.
Experts suggested that as students examine the rivalry between universities, they should also collaborate to mitigate the impact on the game of American politics.
Students can work within their day-to-day lives to dispel tensions between the political parties by exposing themselves to opinions contrary to their own and participating in civil discourse, Flavin said.
“[Be] willing to listen genuinely to people that have a different opinion than you do, and it’s certainly okay to disagree with them and to hold your opinions, but do so in a civil way,” Flavin said.
