Opinion | There Is a Way to Solve the Problem of Hyperpartisan Judges
New York TimesJUL 2022
Even though opposing US parties have more in common than they'd like to believe, hyperpartisanship today has become about much more than policy. Party allegiance is part of a mega-identity, comprising race, faith, and social and mainstream media habits. It is no wonder that, with the shift toward compiling multiple key aspects of an individual's social and cultural existence, and attaching it to one side of the political divide, debate is more difficult than ever. The US must work to find broader commonalities, and look to share longer term superordinate goals to help depolarize America.
The movement away from bipartisanship is not only the result of the changing political landscape. The flawed two-party system is restricting American voters from registering their dissatisfaction and disenchantment with the major parties, meaning their participation in elections is motivated by contempt for opponents rather than support for anyone on the ballot. The oversimplified choice offered at the polls is not even reflective of the political diversity within the two parties, let alone outside of them. Lawmakers must reform this system, for the sake of discourse and the future of American democracy.