If the adage that “children are our future” rings true, then future generations are on track for even more polarization than our current polarized moment.
In a report analyzing how children view the presidential election between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, CNN assessed that polarization was primarily driven by children and families who identify more with Harris and the Democratic Party.
“Researchers found that Democrat-supporting kids drove polarization in a new study for CNN, and the children were more likely to say they wouldn’t be friends with someone who supports Trump,” the report said.
In a video interview, the children whose families opposed Trump indicated that their parents likely would not let them visit a family that supported Trump. Meanwhile, a child from a Trump-supporting family said he would be allowed to visit a Harris-supporting family.
While the CNN study is not representative, it does comport with previous research that has indicated Republicans are far more likely to maintain friendly dispositions toward Democrats than vice versa. A 2020 YouGov study found that 48% of Republicans were willing to date a Democrat, but 40% of Democrats said they were willing to date a Republican. Vice presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN), completely ignoring his party’s own role in polarization, has even suggested that Democrats have to win in order to make family holidays peaceful gatherings again, since it will mean Trump will be forced out of the political scene.
Like the children from Democratic families in the CNN report, partisanship for Democrats is much more of a cultural identifier than it is for Republicans, who tend to be much more religious. For the more secular Democrats, partisan affiliation has effectively replaced religious affiliation and brought with it moral expectations and standards linked to a party rather than a religion. This tribalism has, of course, long existed between religions but was less common in politics when the parties were far less polarized.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
In short, a Democratic family is more likely to view a Republican family as evil people that must be avoided, lest their child abandon the party of Harris and President Joe Biden and become (God forbid) a Trump supporter.
If our children are indeed our future, then that future is likely to exacerbate the polarization that already plagues a deeply divided nation.