Week Two: Political Polarization
In our first session of this new Our American Values series, four major threats to American democracy were introduced: 1) Political polarization, 2) Conflict over who belongs as a member of the political community, 3) High and growing economic inequality, and 4) Excessive executive power.
In this second session, the first of those threats, Political Polarization, will be addressed by the authors of a new book – The Upswing (Simon & Schuster, 2020). In a video clip from PBS News Hour, Harvard University Political Science Professor Robert D. Putnam and his co-author Shaylyn Romney Garrett address the causes, effects, and potential remedy for polarization. Putnam and Romney Garrett look to American history and identify the paths that America has previously taken out of periods of polarization; times when I, I, I gradually gave way to We, We, We. Putnam, formerly of the University of Michigan, is probably best-known for Bowling Alone (Simon & Schuster, 2000) his exploration of America’s loss of community. Romney Garrett is a writer, activist, former-Putnam student, and member of a well-known Michigan and Utah political family. This clip from PBS NewsHour runs a little under 7 minutes.
“When the boomers came of age, they inherited a society that was moving in the right direction and very, very affluent. And they blew it.”