Changes

The term "'''Culture War'''" has been used to describe the dramatic polarization that has recently taken place in [[United States|American]] politics. The observation is that on an increasing number of issues, from [[abortion]] to [[gun control]] to [[tax]]es, there are two definable poles in American politics, commonly referred to as the ''left'' or ''liberal'' position and  ''right'' or ''conservative'' position. It In his book,  ''Culture Wars'', [[James Davison Hunter]] describes this polarity as the impulse toward [[Progressivism]] and the impulse toward [[Orthodoxy]].<ref>http://sepwww.stanford.edu/sep/josman/culture/</ref>

The term "'''Culture War'''" has been used to describe the dramatic polarization that has recently taken place in [[United States|American]] politics. The observation is that on an increasing number of issues, from [[abortion]] to [[gun control]] to [[tax]]es, there are two definable poles in American politics, commonly referred to as the ''left'' or ''liberal'' position and  ''right'' or ''conservative'' position. It In his book,  ''Culture Wars'', [[James Davison Hunter]] describes this polarity as the impulse toward [[Progressivism]] and the impulse toward [[Orthodoxy]].<ref>http://sepwww.stanford.edu/sep/josman/culture/</ref>

Some political scientists have suggested that America is ''not'' in the midst of a political war, but that a large majority of voters are moderates. These scholars argue that, while America is generally evenly split on most issues, it is not divisively polarized. The [[media]] plays a part in promoting the appearance of a culture war, because showing the extreme side of issues is more interesting than showing the moderate view.<ref>Fiorina, Morris P. ''Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized America.'' Longman: 2005.</ref>

Some political scientists, like Morris Fiorina (and his colleagues, Harvard University's Samuel J. Abrams and Brigham Young University's Jeremy C. Pope) have suggested that America is ''not'' in the midst of a political war, but that a large majority of voters are moderates. ''"Both red and blue states are basically centrists," said Fiorina. "Red states are a little more conservative than blue states. But people by and large see themselves in the center."'' These scholars argue that, while America is generally evenly split on most issues, it is not divisively polarized. The [[media]] plays a part in promoting the appearance of a culture war, because showing the extreme side of issues is more interesting than showing the moderate view.<ref>Fiorina, Morris P. ''Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized America.'' Longman: 2005.</ref> <ref>[http://www.apa.org/monitor/may05/myth.html "The culture war myth"; Monitor Online]</ref>

==References==

==References==