They get the kind of information they want to hear and do not receive a balanced view of the facts surrounding any particular issue. As a result, people's view of politics have become increasingly partisan with the electorate less likely to accept a non-partisan view. One example of this is the recent political movement known as the "Tea Party." It's Republican members of Congress, under intense pressure from their Tea Party voters back home, have refused to engage in any compromise legislation with the Democrats. It is likely that many of those same Tea Party members get their news exclusively from right wing news outlets which espouse only a right wing view of politics.
Part 3:
It was on June 28, 2012 that the Supreme Court of the United States announced its ruling on the Affordable Care Act, widely known as "Obamacare," and demonstrated how politically partisan the nation has become. The Affordable Care Act stipulates that every American either obtain health insurance, or pay a fine and enter into a government run health care exchange. This mandate is seen as the core of the legislation because without every American involved, there just is no way the government can afford to provide health care for everyone. Those who usually do not use the health care system, primarily the young, must contribute so that those who do, the sick and old, can obtain the necessary care. However, Americans became split over whether the government could mandate that an individual citizen engage in commerce, in this instance purchase health insurance. In a move that shocked the nation, Chief Justice Roberts cast the deciding vote in support of Obamacare; deciding that the individual mandate was in fact...
However, this decision enraged conservatives while it was simultaneously seen as honorable by liberals; clearly demonstrating how politically polarized the nation has become during the last 50 years.
The decline in newspapers, as well as the subsequent rise in Internet information sources, has led to a nation that has become polarized along ideological lines. This can be clearly demonstrated by the
reaction of the American people when the Supreme Court upheld the individual mandate, and thus the core of the legislation. In the Washington Post article "Americans split on Supreme Court decision" by Jon Cohen, a recent poll concluded that Americans were "split down the middle on the court ruling, with 43% holding favorable impressions of the ruling, and just as many, 42%, holding unfavorable ones." (Cohen, 2012) At the same time many Americans, predominantly the tech-savvy youths, get their information from Internet sources. And since Internet sources tend to be extremely partisan in
nature, the information these people receive is slanted toward their particular ideology. Their political views are then reinforced by what they believe to be an independent news source and thus hardening them and making compromise impossible.
Since many did not actually read the Supreme Court's, and especially Chief Justice Robert's opinion, they received their information from political pundits who themselves were influenced by their own ideology. Many who have strong opinions on the subject only heard the opinions and ideas from those who held a shared ideology, and demonstrate strength toward a faulty opinion. This is clearly demonstrated by how the nation is virtually split down the middle on this issue.
References
Cohen, Jon. (3 July, 2012). "Americans split on Supreme Court decision." The
Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-
fix/post/americans-divided-on-supreme-court-ruling/2012/07/03/gJQAhnkNKW_blog.html
Putnam, R.D. (2000). Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American
Community. New York, NY: Simon & Shuster. Print.
Wattenberg, M.P. (2008). Is Voting For Young People? New York, NY: Pearson
Longman. Print.
