POLITICS IN AMERICA VS. COLOMBIA AND POLARIZATION

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I am Colombian, but I want to focus on American politics. And just like that, you've closed this book, thrown it in the dumpster, and cried me a river, or something along those lines. People get mad when someone who is not an expert on a topic, speaks or has an opinion on that topic, and it also applies to this situation.
A foreigner complains about a country that isn't hers.
Sounds terrible right? As much as it will sound that I am complaining, and honestly sometimes I will, you're right. I'll give you that. Who am I to talk about your country? But I have a reason for it by stating something we already know.
The United States of America is a very powerful nation.

Think about it. The USA's decisions impact us all. They are this giant, important country. The US influences the world. Its decisions have an impact on all the other nations and sure, why should I talk about the US, when I have my own country with its struggles, but I am entitled to my opinion. I am allowed to think whatever I want, and if there is a nation with power that can have an impact on all these other countries, then I'm going to voice my opinion.
While I was thinking about the US and Colombia, two nations that no one thinks are intertwined in a political sense apart from some sort of coffee or flower exportations, I couldn't help but notice similarities between the two countries. The prime similarity is both nations are extremely politically polarized.
Political polarization is the division of two distinct, opposite groups or parties, in this case, democrats and republicans. First, let's talk about political polarization in America. Surprisingly, in the 1990s, democrats, and republicans had similar policies, but over the last 30 years, these two parties have grown apart. The democrats have gone farther left and the republicans have gone farther right. A great article that I read shows exactly how far apart they have gone and how

their policies are different. Overall, the main difference is that the Democratic Party is in association with socially liberal and economic policies, while the Republican party is more conservative. Regardless of what you may believe, you have to admit that these two parties are opposites.
The Democratic Party's policies could be:
The expansion of government-provided healthcare. Increasing the minimum wage.
Expansion of LGBTQ+ rights.
More pathways for immigrants to become citizens.
The Republican Party's policies could be: Lowering taxes on wealth.
Limiting the regulation of the economy. Immigration restrictions.

Now, I have to be honest. I lean towards the democratic side. I am a democrat, but I do not hate Republicans. If you came up to me, were very respectful and kind, and casually mentioned that you vote for Republicans, I won't hate you, as long as you are kind. That's the problem. We are programmed to hate the other side. Another problem is that people change their beliefs according to the party they have chosen. Once you choose the party you agree with the most, you feel compelled to agree on everything with them, even if they don't agree on everything with them.
These charts show how the two parties have grown apart from the year 1994 to 2017.

These other charts show how people felt about their children marrying a person from the opposite party

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These other charts show how people felt about their children marrying a person from the opposite party. In the 1960s, 4% of Republicans and 4% of Democrats opposed it, but in 2019, 45% of Democrats and 35% of Republicans opposed it.

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