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Katie MottaMr. AparicioMacroeconomics – 57 December 2018HonorboundA Nation Divided: Can Americans Agree on Anything?In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle presents his theory of happiness. He enshrines happiness as a central purpose of human life and a goal in itself. He argues that happiness is not pleasure, nor is it virtue; it is the exercise of virtue. Although the theory of Aristotle might have seemed correct in 350 B.C. Greece, in modern time, his thoughts do not seem to exist, especially in America. Aristotle’s theory of the human good is not possible for modern time because of the current disagreement in America, specifically in politics.For many Americans, it feels as if the United States has never been less united. There is maybe one thing that unites Americans on the eve of Trump’s inauguration: the certain belief that Americans are more divided than ever. According to a Pew Research report, 86% of Americans describe the nation as more politically divided today than in the past. Consequently, part of today’s apparent divineness appears to be a matter of short-sighted perspective. Many Americans who feel that the nation has never been so split have only been politically conscious for a few decades and therefore have a narrow timeline from which to compare. Still, there is good evidence that American political parties have become increasingly polarized over the past several decades, with Democratic and Republican politicians disagreeing over policy more than ever. A 2017 PEW Research Center poll of 5000 US adults reported that partisan divide over political issues related to racial discrimination, immigration, international diplomacy, and government aid to the needy has widened significantly since the early 1990s. There was an average 36% difference of opinion on these issues (up from 15% in 1994) across party lines.But a 2012 study by Stanford University political science professor Shanto Iyengar offers another way of looking at this apparent split; he examines political polarization not from how Americans stand on policy issues, but how they feel about those on the other side of the political fence. Drawing from survey data spanning several decades, the study?found that the feelings of those who affiliate as Democrat or Republican towards members of the opposing party have become increasingly negative since the late '80s.For more than two decades, partisan polarization has been a powerful force in American politics. Political polarization measures overlap between the two parties. A high level of political polarization means that Republicans agree with Republicans and that Democrats agree with Democrats. The 1960s and 1970s were a time of incredible political controversy and tumult. ?The Civil Rights Act of 1965 is a good example: The law was primarily pushed by politicians in the Democratic Party, but many northern Republicans supported it while southern Democrats were its fiercest opponents.Through many quotes, Aristotle argues that happiness is only one idea. Aristotle states that “the good for man is an activity of the soul in accordance with virtue, or if there are more kinds of virtue than one, in accordance with the best and most perfect kind”.This quotation from Book 1 Chapter 7 connects Aristotle’s conception of happiness and the good life with his conception of virtue. The word activity translates from the Greek energia, which signifies not only physical activity but also mental activity. However, Aristotle claims that happiness comes from a single activity, so how can everyone achieve happiness when there are always two different sides to every opinion? In addition, Aristotle states that “these virtues are formed in man by his doing the actions ... The good of man is a working of the soul in the way of excellence in a complete life”. Would happiness not be different for every single human? Something that might make Democratic express happiness might applaud Republicans. With how big the American population is today, there is no way that the 325.7 million humans in America will agree on the same concept or idea. Finally, Aristotle argues that “Happiness then, is found to be something perfect and self-sufficient, being the end to which our actions are directed”.Similar to what was mention before, something perfect to one person can be a disaster to another. By trying to agree on what is right and what is wrong, our society will end up disagreeing for generations in the future. How will Americans ever resolve their differences? "People tend to agree based on perceived self-interest," explains Rhonda Hilyer, president of Agreement Dynamics, a conflict resolution company in Seattle. "When I work with divergent parties I help them embrace the concept of enlightened self-interest, which means that to maximize the achievement of one's self-interest, it is usually necessary to recognize the self-interest of others and to seek solutions that support all parties' interests to some extent." Through the modern day political polarization, Aristotle’s theory about the human good could not exist today. Although an identical happiness would ideally create a perfect society, the amount of disagreement in society today blocks that concept from coming into a reality. The only way American can help solve this problem is to realize that if someone has a different opinion or though than theirs, it does not give them a right to say they are wrong, because in the end, everyone will never agree. Feature Image:"America Divided." Dribbble. Accessed December 11, 2018. . ................
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