Almost everyone agrees that in 2025/2026 America is severely divided. Perhaps at no time since the Civil War in the 1860s has it been this bad. Then the issues were clear—slavery, abolition of slavery, states rights. Today, the issues are not as clear. In order to bring some clarity to the problem I will focus here and now only on the two major political parties. Each has about equal numbers of supporters but there are many independent voters.
The problem seems clear to me. Both parties have left the center of American social and political beliefs and have gravitated toward extremes. The result has been both sides voting against the other side and even seeking to demonize them.
The Democratic Party has by-and-large abandoned “middle America” calling its denizens “a basket of deplorables.” Sure, yes, Hillary Clinton backed off from that aspersion but the damage was done. In politics, perception is largely reality. The perception is that the Democrats are out of touch with if not set against Americans who adhere to traditional religion, morality, and values.
The Republican Party has by-and-large abandoned the working poor, the vulnerable, people who live one paycheck away from poverty, the weak. Their champion said that if his economic plans were implemented “Only the weak will fail.” That is a clear signal of Social Darwinism.
The middle ground, the center in American social and political life is left almost empty.
This is ironic to me because when I lived in Germany in the early 1980s German people asked me why America had two parties that were hardly different from each other. I told them to watch Ronald Reagan. I meant that the parties would drift apart under his leadership of the Republican Party. That is what happened.
Today, for many of us, it is very difficult to vote without holding one’s nose. Mostly we independents vote against rather than for.
Is there anyone out there in the public realm of political thought and commentary with wisdom at this time of crisis? I recommend David Brooks, someone esteemed by moderate Republicans and Democrats alike. A wise man with conservative values but also compassion. I’m not promoting him for public office; I’m just saying he is a somewhat lone voice crying in the wilderness of current American political and social life.
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