2) Ideological Purity Is Infecting Liberals, Too
It’s not just Republican voters who are drifting away from the center. Liberals are headed down their own path of ideological purity. Across American college campuses, debate and free speech are getting shut down over issues of political correctness. Where things like the environment and genetically modified foods are concerned, some even claim that there is a liberal “war on science,” mimicking the right’s antievolution crusade. There are other signs that the left is losing sight of both the center and compromise. A 2014 Pew poll found that 60 percent of consistent liberals said it was important to live in a place where most people shared their political views. Although that’s less than the 79 percent of consistent conservatives, it’s hardly a ringing endorsement of belief in a plurality of viewpoints. The same survey also concluded that strong liberals are more likely than strong conservatives to aggressively donate to candidates who support their hard-line views. In short, both sides of the political spectrum are drifting away from one another. In a system designed to be based on compromise and working with rivals, this is clearly bad news.
It’s not just Republican voters who are drifting away from the center. Liberals are headed down their own path of ideological purity. Across American college campuses, debate and free speech are getting shut down over issues of political correctness. Where things like the environment and genetically modified foods are concerned, some even claim that there is a liberal “war on science,” mimicking the right’s antievolution crusade. There are other signs that the left is losing sight of both the center and compromise. A 2014 Pew poll found that 60 percent of consistent liberals said it was important to live in a place where most people shared their political views. Although that’s less than the 79 percent of consistent conservatives, it’s hardly a ringing endorsement of belief in a plurality of viewpoints. The same survey also concluded that strong liberals are more likely than strong conservatives to aggressively donate to candidates who support their hard-line views. In short, both sides of the political spectrum are drifting away from one another. In a system designed to be based on compromise and working with rivals, this is clearly bad news.
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