Yesterday in class we
discussed what it truly means to be the left, right, center, far left, and far
right. I think that it was particularly interesting when it came time to
assign the presidential candidates a place on the line, a majority of people
wanted to place both candidates further to either the right or the left than
what they really are. The political environment in America is hostile and
yesterday made me realize how far the hostility has gone. In yesterdays class
it made me realize that politics isn’t about the facts but how people can spin
things. I have always known that political spin is important, but I didn’t realize
how important it is. When looking at the actual facts, both Obama and Romney
would be placed in a different location as opposed to what the majority of
people think. It is also interesting that what many Americans would consider to
be the far left is actually a moderate position around the rest of the world.
I think that yesterday’s
class brought out some interesting points about American politics, the
fact that American politics are so polarized and our political position
compared to the rest of the world. What do you think about the state of our political
environment today? What do you think about Obama and Romney’s opinion of each other?
What do you think America’s view on the far left or far right says about our
relation with the rest of the world?
I agree that it's a tricky issue to place the candidates exactly where they should go, judging objectively, on that line we made in class on Wednesday. We are all, as I think someone said in class, brainwashed by the media and even the candidates themselves. Candidates try to push their opponents as far to one side of the spectrum as possible while hinting that they themselves are much closer to the middle. I think it's interesting, and probably exclusive to United States politics, that we are so afraid of anything straying too far from the middle point. In fact, I think anyone too far from the middle would get criticized for having radical, anti-American views.
ReplyDeleteIt is difficult to categorize candidates. Although candidates must be put into a political party, it is rare for them to fit the mold of the party they represent. This complicates things because it forces voters to look at not only the general stereotypes that we are accustomed too but also the particular person. I think it was difficult for us to agree on where to put Romney and Obama on the political spectrum because candidates simultaneously attempt to cater to the extremes of the party they represent as well as market themselves to the other constituents. That can often lead to lots of confusion and accusations of flip flopping. It is really interesting that our view of the far left is the world's view of the middle. I think that says a lot about our political environment and citizens.
ReplyDeleteI made this point in another post--one of Marx's explanations for why class struggle is particularly violent under capitalism is that it divides society into two classes. Our political system does something similar by creating a situation in which only two candidates have a legitimate chance of winning. I think the two-party system tends to sow an "us vs. them" mentality. I think we tend to over-emphasize the qualities we like in the candidate that most closely resembles our own viewpoints while over-emphasizing the differences in opinion we have with the other candidate. This creates a larger separation between the two on the "left/moderate/right" scale in our minds than may actually exist.
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