Papyrus Editor

Government, immigration, race relations, and healthcare are the leading pain points for Americans, according to Gallup polling in 2019.

Interestingly, 27% named government as a top issue, and 18% for immigration; race relations and healthcare are just 6% each. Looking back to 2007, the government was just 7%, and immigration was 8%. 

So why did the government, specifically, become a pressing issue?  

Government

Breaking down “government,” we see that partisanship continues to be the thing that drives people’s opinions. Democrats say that Republicans are the problem, and vice versa. Not that partisanship is necessarily bad, provided it is “positive.” With partisanship, it has been theorized that you increase voter participation and create more common good as a result of voters paying more attention to their individual needs and that of surrounding communities. 

However, we currently live in a time that seems dominated by “negative” partisanship, which can lead to distrust in news media and research, and tribal mentalities that see voters thinking only about what is good for their side, even if those same voters know that certain policies or political positions on the other side might be better. 

According to Pew Research, there are eight core issues that have contributed to partisanship today.

1. Across ten political values, there is now a 36% gap between Republicans and Democrats, which compares to just 15% in 1994.
2. Democrats are moving further left on issues while Republicans have held firm on their positions; issues facing black Americans may be a primary driver for pushing Democrats left.
3. Republicans feel less strongly that the government should do more to help the needy compared to a majority of Democrats that feel the government should do more to help.
4. Global issues and how much the U.S. should be involved also divides the political parties; both parties are not unified on this, with a divide showing there isn’t as much agreement even within the parties as compared to some other issues. 
5. Democrats are largely unified that the U.S. economic system unfairly benefits “powerful interests”; Republicans are split, with those earning $30,000 or less being more likely than those earning $75,000 or more to say that there is economic unfairness.
6. Democrats are split on how much hard work contributes to success, with whites and those with college degrees being most skeptical; 77% of Republicans say most people can get ahead if they work hard.
7. Majorities of both Republicans and Democrats have a favorable view of homosexuality, at 83% and 54%, respectively.
8. A whopping 88% of Republicans favorably view Trump’s performance as president compared to 8% of Democrats; this is an astounding gap that has not been seen in the past 100 years.

Government is a top issue among Americans, but the statistics seem to suggest that it is not necessarily because we think the government isn’t doing a good job. Rather, we simply aren’t fans of the other side.

With that in mind, what can be done to improve the situation? Based on things that divide us, probably nothing. There are seemingly many deep, underlying differences that won’t easily be solved. Social issues, in particular, are a driving force. Views on marriage, the economy, immigration, race relations, and similar issues are often formed over a person’s entire life and not easily changed, if ever.

More than any of that, trust in our media continues to edge lower, which means that unifying people around any particular issue is increasingly difficult. If we can’t all get on the same page about what is a fact and what is misinformation then there really is no hope. Worse still is when politicians on both sides embrace misinformation because it appeals to the tribalism and makes it easier to get elected or remain in office.

While catastrophes like a global pandemic of coronavirus may help bring people together, it shouldn’t take war, economic collapse, or global pandemics to get people to come together and demand a bi-partisan agreement.

An article titled “What Are the Solutions to Political Polarization?” proposes several ideas. To address polarization, we may need to more frequently interact with those of differing political ideologies, speak more about our personal experiences directly to people, remove online “side talk” that amounts to gossip, thinking more like citizens and less as a group of people fighting for something, more diverse political party options, and voting for policies over parties.

The above article does attempt to outline ways to help make these changes, but it isn’t clear how long it would take to influence people and our political system, or even if people would be receptive. The writers do suggest more drastic measures may be needed to cut through partisanship, such as referendums like those used in Britain for Brexit. Although, it is suggested that delays and continual infighting over Brexit could be making things worse rather than better.

For our part, on the citizen-by-citizen level, each of us can do a little better by not accusing those on the other side of the political aisle of things that aren’t true because we are frustrated that our side isn’t winning. Likewise, speaking with those who hold a different perspective may help us to see why someone else would vote how they do.

Broadly speaking, climate change is the natural observable shift in temperature that affects the climate of Earth. For example, at one point in time, a region may have been colder and rainy, but now it is hot and arid; likewise, a lowland area that flooded once in a decade may now flood several times a year. 

These changes can happen for a few reasons. Looking back over thousands and millions of years through the study of paleoclimatology data, we see that these shifts in weather and temperate are normal.

The intensity of the sun, ash from a volcano darkening the sky, and the natural emission and buildup of greenhouse gases are all contributing factors that are beyond our control.

However, 97% of peer-reviewed and actively publishing climate scientists agree that human production of greenhouse gases is responsible for the “temperature anomaly” over the past century. Looking ahead to the year 2100, scientists predict a 3 to 5 degrees Celsius rise in the temperature of Earth, which could dramatically reshape our coastlines, biodiversity, and threaten large swaths of populations on every continent, including North America.

This is where the question of pollution and conservation comes from. What, if anything, should be done?

While climate scientists hold near universal consensus that climate change is real and is happening, not everyone agrees. At least, not in how we should go about addressing concerns about rising temperatures. Climate change is often portrayed as a political issue, for obvious reasons. Our representatives set policy, and the Democrates and Republicans aren’t always in agreement. However, it probably isn’t as divided in the way that you think. 

How Climate Change is Politicized

You will find Republicans who are quick to agree that we should prevent a rise in global temperatures. But just not at the expense of individual freedom and prosperity.  

That is to say, historically, climate regulation has often disproportionately targeted groups of people working in coal or other blue-collar jobs. In contrast, other industries and people that play a role in greenhouse gas emissions, like companies that operate large server farms or factories that are moved overseas to areas with limited pollution regulations, aren’t targeted.

Republicans have been condemned for their apparent rejection of climate science. Sometimes this stubborn rhetoric is born out of ideological concerns that Democrats are guilty of sensationalizing climate change to rile up their base, instill fear, and force through poorly thought-out climate regulation that will increase costs of essential goods and put people out of work. 

For some Republicans, they want to let the free-market find a solution. Incentivize businesses to address the climate issue, create new jobs, and continue making life better for people without making government bigger.

Except, among Democrats, there can be a distrust that the private sector won’t do anything more than half-measures while seeking to reap enormous profits at the expense of everyone else. So democrats want sweeping regulatory changes and spending of tax money to force a shift to renewable energy, among other policy changes.

While politicians aren’t too keen on giving in to the other side, we shouldn’t forget about the consumers. Just like with voters voting at the ballet, consumers vote with their dollars. 

Do Consumers Care?

What we’re seeing is that consumers aren’t too keen on spending more money on a product that claims to be environmentally friendly without getting more for that investment. Worse yet, those “planet-saving products,” such as Tesla cars, are beyond the budget of most families.

So up until this point, we have made do with minor steps taken across many industries to slowly force change, such as making appliances consume less energy or increasing fuel economy standards. This makes everyone move forward a little, but just not at the pace that some would like.

Should More be Done?

The fact that we have acknowledged climate change exists, and efforts have been made to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through existing regulations, shows that we can take positive steps. But we should not be waiting around for policy.

If you have concerns about your immune system, you wouldn’t sit around waiting for your body to improve on its own. You would reach for a supplement from a brand like Sunwarrior, Terry Naturally, or Apricot Power to help support your body’s needs each day. Similarly, waiting around for the Earth to be fixed doesn’t appear to be taking place – The Earth needs a powerful supplement.

We agree that climate change is a human concern, but that’s not the real question. The real question is, what are we willing to sacrifice to make the necessary change? This is where things get muddled, and the issue goes beyond plastic bags and paper straws, Energy Star labels, and simply talking about what we would like to change.

Americans, per capita, produce more greenhouse gases than any other country. China produces the most overall, but considering many countries have outsourced manufacturing to the Pacific region, it makes sense that China’s contribution to greenhouse gases would rise dramatically. 

To reverse this, we have to use less energy. That means making practical changes each day, such as driving less, setting the thermostat hotter in summer and colder in winter, eating fewer calories to reduce carbon dioxide from the agriculture sector, and buying more local goods. 

All of us could agree that action should be taken to stop a rise in the global temperature, but how quickly would you disagree if it meant your thermostat would be rationed or that your car now costs more because it must be a hybrid or fully electric?

We are at a crossroads. Consumers don’t want to give up access to inexpensive goods and services that are all thanks to greenhouse gas emitting energy sources, and politicians don’t want to be in the crosshairs of their constituents by supporting the wrong thing. The way we think about pollution and conservation, unfortunately, is conflicted.

All of use should reflect each day momentarily and decide what we want the world to look like heading into the year 2100. Whether change happens by advocating for policy, or we set the thermostat differently, we are in uncharted waters and we have everything to lose and nobody else to blame for our individual and collective decision making.