Nearly three hundred years after George Washington warned America about the dangers of political parties, stating: “The alternate domination of one faction over another…has perpetrated the most horrid enormities”, Almost immediately after he left office, however, this warning was immediately breached and set into motion the ideological divides we call modern-day political parties.

Figure 1. Slideshare.com. “Timeline of American Politics”

The origins of both the Democrats and Republicans can be traced back to the genesis of the aforementioned Democratic-Republican party in 1792. The Democratic Republicans are considered to be the first opposition party in history after their presidential candidate, Thomas Jefferson, fell short to the Federalists’ John Adams in the first contested American presidential election. Their core beliefs were akin to populism, where they believed in a government that represented regular, working class people. They disagreed with the idea of a strong central government in favor of states’ rights, which allowed individual states to do mostly what they pleased. The party would eventually split itself into two different parties of its own around the time of the 1824 presidential election, where they would begin the transitions into the Republican and Democratic parties by nominating two separate candidates for President John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson, respectively with much similarity to the first American political schism of 1792.

Figures 2 & 3: “John Quincy Adams” and “Andrew Jackson – Wikipedia.com

A complete ideological turnaround within the two parties was set in motion during the Great Depression. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deals enacted a sizeable amount of progressive legislation into law, including the Social Security Act of 1935. These sort of bills were an indication of bigger government and a firmer grip on control, which as previously mentioned was exactly what the Democratic Republicans (now Democrats) detested. This shift of ideas reached its peak in 1960, when John F. Kennedy was elected President…with the Democratic Party. Kennedy’s fight for civil rights and his successor Lyndon B. Johnson’s signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 sealed the fate of modern Democrat and Republican ideals. Now, it was the Democrats who favored a stronger government and social change instead of the Republicans (who, once again, set themselves in opposition to Democrats’ actions.)

Figure 4: ‘President Lyndon Johnson Signs the Civil Rights Act”, Time.com

Since the ideological about – face in the early 1930s, the Democratic Party has pushed for a strong central government that provides for its citizens through social welfare programs such as Social Security and universal healthcare. Democrats believe that the wealthy should pay a higher rate of taxes, in part to fund the proposed social programs. From the Democratic Party website: “We believe that today’s extreme level of income and wealth inequality—where the majority of the economic gains go to the top one percent and the richest 20 people in our country own more wealth than the bottom 150 million—makes our economy weaker, our communities poorer, and our politics poisonous.” When it comes to foreign immigration, Democrats tend to oppose the deportation of undocumented immigrants, especially if they have no criminal record or are very young. They prefer that undocumented immigrants be allowed to stay in the country through several methods; creating a path to citizenship, granting more undocumented immigrants asylum, explicitly protecting them from deportation through programs like Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), etc. To put it simply, the Democratic Party is the party of “liberals” (who are defined as people who are “open to new behavior or opinions and willing to discard traditional values” by Google) and “leftists” (supporters of “social equality”). Their politics have been criticized heavily, with some drawing comparisons of Democrat-backed policy to socialism and even communism.

Figure 5. Braeger. S. Democratic Logo
The Republican Party has also seen its values change as a result. They are in favor of a weaker, less centralized government and generally favor states’ rights when it comes to certain issues such as the legalization of recreational and/or medicinal marijuana. Republicans are well-known for their hatred of high taxes. They believe that more money should be put into the consumer’s pocket. As a result, they generally look upon public welfare programs with disdain. Republicans generally believe immigration is a privilege given to those who choose to do so legally, and that the United States must take steps to ensure that deportations happen and continue to happen. They also emphasize strengthening border security between the U.S. and Mexico to prevent more illegal immigration. Republicans are fiercely patriotic, and as a result will usually call for an increase for military spending. The Republican Party’s platform does a good job of summarizing their values: “We believe our constitutional system — limited government, separation of powers, federalism, and the rights of the people — must be preserved uncompromised for future generations.” Republicans are a party for “conservatives” (people who like things the way they are/enjoy keeping things traditional) and the “rightists” (someone who supports following the law by the book over moral emotion/judgement).

Figure 6: Republican National Committee – Republican Logo.
Bipartisanship, which is the agreement between parties on an issue, is hard to come by between Democrats and Republicans. Every day, campaigns, debates, and elected officials become more radical or ludicrous by the day. If thirty years ago someone predicted that socialists like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and moguls/actors like Donald Trump would hold public office, that person would be thrown into an insane asylum.

Figure 7: Business Insider – No, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez doesn’t want 70% of your income Figure 8: Newser – What It’s like to Be Beaten By Donald Trump
Each party believes that the other is the enemy of the state. Outside of Washington, the media goads their viewers on to hate the other side even more. Networks such as MSNBC and Fox News show a clear bias to the Democrat and Republican parties, respectively (“Media Bias”, Allsides.com). Because of this increasing gap between Democratic and Republican ideals, the two have become widely different and constantly fight with each other — whether it be on the House or Senate floor, on the street during political demonstrations, at the Thanksgiving dinner table, or on the comments section of any internet video. To compare a Democrat to a Republican is to compare fire to water. To say “Democrats and Republicans are different” is the most obvious comparison to make between the two. Politically, they align themselves at opposite ends of the spectrum. Many political candidates have based their entire campaigns off of stopping the advancement of the other party. And, in fact, that is what they have in common most of all; nowadays the intentions of the two main American political parties is not to advance their own agendas; it’s to prevent even the mention of the other party’s ideals. What the Democrats and Republicans both have in common is their determination to prove why the other will drive America into social and financial collapse.

Figure 9: Jeff Stahler for The Columbus Dispatch, November 27, 2011.
New York City is overwhelmingly a Democratic city. Out of 51 members of the New York City Council, only two are Republicans. The city is a major reason why the state of New York holds a Democratic trifecta within its government. This means that the one executive and two legislative branches of government in New York (governor, state senate, and state assembly) are all Democrat-controlled. For a Republican living in the city, it may feel like a crime to express their political views publicly. Some may even lose their jobs over expressing views not shared by others in the workplace. Some have even been attacked for wearing pro-Trump merchandise, such as Jovanni Valle, who was hit over the head with a glass bottle because of his “Make America Great Again” hat.

Figure 10: Pacific Pundit – Replay Lincoln Park Bans MAGA Hats
It seems as if in New York, there is only one political party.
The polarization between Democrats and Republicans divides entire states into devoting their loyalty to one or the other. Should differing views be brought up in the wrong geographical location, attempts are made to silence or disprove the claims of the minority. As long as they have existed, Democrats and Republicans have always strived to be different from each other. As a result, it is very easy to compare such a disparity. I’ve got my own personal political views that are reflected in both ballparks. Regardless, if you don’t pick a side, you are labeled as a part of the problem.

References
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