My 1st Political Post

Some say that America is an increasingly politically polarized nation, and there is some truth to that. But there are still a lot more independents and people who are much more complex in their views of politics, not just "liberal" or "conservative". As I have said before, while I identify myself as a liberal with some libertarianism on personal issues, I am a registered independent and try to keep an open mind to all types of viewpoints.

I think the true polarization in America is in Washington. To get most any job, it feels like you have to have some type of allegiance to a party or ideology (Kyle Sampson or Monica Goodling anyone?). There are an increasing number of media outlets that cater to a specific perspective (redstate.org, DailyKos for example). There are every liberal and conservative children's books. I suppose liberal (blue state)/conservative (red state) is a good way to divide the nation up into two groups if you had to. But you don't. And the media, more often than not, falls prey to this notion of a truly polarized US.

This perception of American has now even spread overseas. The Daily Telegraph has come up with 2 lists: the top 100 most influential American liberals, and the top 100 most influential American conservatives. So far, they have only published 100-61 in each, and will publish the rest later this week. I must admit, they are interesting to look at, and I will be interested who tops the list. However, it is a little troubling to see England falling prey to the polarization view of the US.