Polarized

How polarized is America?

A recent poll showed that 80% of Democrats view Trump negatively and 85% of Republicans viewed Biden negatively. No surprise there.

The surprise was that the same poll showed only 50% of Democrats and 60% of Republicans viewed O.J. Simpson negatively. Sadly, O.J. is no longer with us. If this poll is to be believed, both Democrats and Republicans think more highly of a man who nearly cut his wife’s head off than of the other party’s presidential candidate. Presumably, both Democrats and Republicans would prefer that O.J. move in to the vacant house next door to theirs than the Trump or the Biden families move in. Biden’s German Shepherd does bite, after all.

Polling is a very inexact science. “Recency Bias” has a major influence. Trump and Biden have been in the news nearly every day for the past three years. O.J. has been out of the public eye since The Trail of the Century back in 1995. It’s possible that many of the people polled were not even born in 1995 and think that O.J. is an obscure character on “The Simpsons”.

Also, the mechanics of polling have changed in the 21st century. Back in the primitive 1900s, everyone had a land line phone and no one had caller I.D. Pollsters got through to a person more than half the time. “Better answer the phone, Marge. It might be the hospital calling after Timmy fell down the well again.” Nowadays, no one answers when he sees “Unknown Caller” especially when it is a toll-free number. I’ll wager that pollsters get through 10% of the time.

America is polarized for sure, but not to the extent that polls would indicate. I, for one, would rather have the Trumps living next door than a knife-wielding murderer.

By Ed Dufton