The roots of American political polarization

Le Regard Libre N° 68 - Clément Guntern

The country that has been called the first of democracies, the one whose merits and vigor have been praised for so long, now seems to be out of breath. The chaotic «debate» between Joe Biden and Donald Trump bears witness to this. The roots of the problem run so deep that it would be unfair to attribute the current situation to any particular president. It is up to American society as a whole to deal with the evil that is eating away at it: rampant polarization.

This year's US presidential campaign, it is said, was one of extreme polarization between two irreconcilable factions, almost like two countries facing each other on the same territory. Donald Trump seems, at first glance, to have been the cause of this unrest, or at least its major architect. By his virulence, his rejection of all criticism and his lack of respect for the inst