The Political Spectrum

Many people talk about the political spectrum. I’ve been meaning to address this for months, but never got around to it. Recently Bill Maher offered his thoughts, and pointed out that the “left is the same as the right” is a false equivalency. While I agree with him for the most part, I think he (and most pundits) have left out one important fact. We are far more alike than it seems.

I’ve said before that I hate the two party system in this country. Many people want a third party, but I don’t think that will solve the actual problem. Over the last ten years, we have learned that humans don’t easily fit into categories. There’s no hard line in the sand where you go from centrist to conservative, or liberal. Most people are conservative on some issues and liberal on others. Look at any poll. They’ll say something like “64% of Democrats” or “56% of Republicans”. If we don’t even agree with our own parties, what good are they?

Generally speaking, the political spectrum ranges from liberals who believe that society is improved by helping the lowest among us, on the left, to conservatives who believe that we must first improve ourselves before we address society, on the right. Liberals are known to support more progressive policies, while conservatives prefer smaller governmental influence on their lives. It’s a spectrum, however.

There are the the 10-15% on the far left. They are the social justice warriors, the socialists, etc. They are absolutely outraged, all the time. If you question their beliefs, rather than explain why they disagree, they simply call you a bigot, racist, homophobe, etc. They are on a moral crusade to fix all that’s wrong with this world and if you are in the way, they will crucify you.

There are the 10-15% on the far right. They are the hillbillies who have been so utterly convinced that they are constantly under attack, they don’t trust any outsiders. They truly believe that their very way of life is threatened. The attack on Christmas. The attack on the Second Amendment. The attack on religious liberty. Everything is a crisis to them, so they are fighting a war.

Everyone else is somewhere in the middle. The reality is that we are more purple than red or blue. Yet, when you ask anyone on the right half of the spectrum to describe someone on the left, they default to the moral outrage machine on the far left, not the 35% who are still left of center. Conversely, if you ask any of the left half of this country to describe someone on the right, they default to the uneducated stereotype I described, not the 35% who are also right of center. Why?

It’s because both ends of the spectrum are very similar. They both live in echo chambers. They talk about wanting to surround themselves with “like minded individuals”. Whenever you hear someone say that, you can replace it with “closed minded individuals”. They don’t want to debate. They don’t want to prove that they are correct. They want you to agree that they are correct. Already.

I’ve seen a bunch of people on the left who are minorities, and when whitey asks for their perspective or to explain their experiences, the minority will say something condescending like “its not my job to enlighten you”. Actually, it is, if you want to convince people you are correct. Instead, they start at “I’m correct and it’s your responsibility to figure that out.” Here’s the thing. I probably agree with the left on most issues. But they don’t want to put the work in to convince others.

Another reason for our preconceptions of each other, is the media. Friendliness and cooperation aren’t interesting. They aren’t exciting. They don’t sell ads or inspire clicks. So this image of us constantly at each other’s throats is shoved in our faces over and over again. Sure, the political parties will never see eye to eye on much. They have too much at stake. They put their careers ahead of the people. Screw them.

So where do the American people actually stand on the issues? It turns out, that most Americans lean left on quite a few issues. 65% say that immigrants strengthen the country. Only 37% support the wall, while 74% support granting citizenship to children brought here illegally.

According to a 2018 Pew poll, 60% of Americans believe it is the federal government’s responsibility to make sure all Americans have health care, half of whom support going all the way to single payer. Even 31% of the people who don’t want the federal government in the health care business, want to keep programs like medicaid and medicare. Only 4% don’t want the government to offer healthcare at all.

Half of the country says regulations are a good thing. Half say it’s not. Yet, most people (66% of Democrats and 31% of Republicans) agree that regulations on food and medicine is necessary. 59% say that protecting the environment must be a top priority. 76% support taxing the wealthiest Americans.

On the question of gun control, 61% say the laws should be more strict, while only 8% want them relaxed.

On the conservative side, 64% say that we should cut public spending to reduce our national debt. Yet, according to a 2013 poll, American didn’t want to cut anything. The closest was aid to foreign countries at 48%.

If we agree on a great many things, why can’t we talk to each other? We need to reevaluate the way we see each other, politically. If there are 15% on the far left, and 15% on the far right, that means that everyone else is in the 70% in the middle somewhere. Instead of lumping everyone together based on one political stance, look at where we agree. Maybe Bob wants tougher gun laws, just like you, but is against health care. Maybe you agree with Cindy in supporting taxing the wealthy, but disagree with her on citizenship. No one is completely liberal or completely conservative. Yet, if we continue to instantly categorize each other based on one or two policies, we will never get anywhere. When someone agrees with you, encourage that. When they don’t, find out why. Stop looking at someone who disagrees with you one one thing as if they are evil, and instead, think of them as an asset on the policies on which you agree.