Culture War & Class War

Time to Reach Across the Aisle

We seldom cooperate on economic issues because we are too busy fighting a culture war. The wealthy are also divided, but they hang together on economic issues. We should follow their example because…

There is a second war in America; the Donor Class vs Everyone Else. We are losing. We will no win until social conservatives and liberals work for reforms that benefit workers, the middle class and small businesses. The system should work for us.

We fear the other party’s sinful nature, so we nominate the candidates who raise the most money. Where does the money come from? Who controls the news media outlets and internet algorithms that pull us apart? Who do you think?

The donor class rigged the economy and American living standards declined. This may have been intentional, to make us easier to control and our labor cheaper. Perhaps we’re just collateral damage from a greed stampede. For a clear and concise history of the donor class, please read Evil Geniuses, by Kurt Andersen.[6]

We need more parties so we can vote against donor class candidates. In a race between two donor class candidates, the donor class always wins.

A Nation Divided

When America was great, liberal Republicans and conservative Democrats were common. The two-party system worked because we could compromise.
Civil rights issues and Vietnam realigned Democrats and Republicans in the 60s and 70s. An urban/rural split also developed. The stage was set for a long fight.

Two-party systems fail when deep divisions develop. Single-winner elections become raging battles. PACs generate floods of attack ads. Compromise becomes a dirty word. Each election pulls us further apart. Are we stuck in a doom loop?[7]

We are More United than We Think

We have shared values:
We care about our family, community, and country.
We want to preserve independence, and we oppose oppression.
We love America and oppose those who would betray us.
We want fair elections

Despite our extreme partisan divide, we share a great deal of common ground on policy issues. A major survey, the "American Aspirations Index",[8] shows that we are close to agreement on most issues, with immigration as the exception. They also found that we overestimate how much we disagree on the issues

In the article “The Growing Evidence That Americans Are Less Divided Than You May Think” Karl Vick covers the Aspirations Index and other polls that reveal considerable agreement among Americans on major issues.[9]

We could work out our differences with a better political system. What the elites fear most is populists and progressives working together on economic issues.