The Rise in Political Extremism

By Joseph Kim

Cypress High School

In modern times, political tensions have skyrocketed and political extremism has been a trend. Extremist political factions have emerged from both the left and the right. From the Proud Boys to Antifa, these groups have pushed the limits of political discourse and have at times resorted to violence. Most recently, the United States Capitol got stormed by far right Trump Supporters. This resulted in at least 5 deaths and countless injured extremists and police.

To even suggest an event of such magnitude would take place a decade ago would have been unfathomable. This begs the question ‘How did American Politics become like this?’ It must be noted that my attempt at answering this question should be taken with a grain of salt as my opinion pales in comparison to the expert opinion of professionals. With that being said, political polarization had always had its roots in the American public, but this hatred had not been so apparent.

This hidden polarization had made some breaks. The biggest being the Watergate scandal. Political tensions still existed but remained underground. When these instances emerged, it still paled in comparison to what we see today. However, with Barack Obama’s first term, this changed. Barack Obama’s presidency emboldened the far right to retaliate against the first black president. While this happened, the far left also gained traction knowing that a Democratic president would be slightly more favorable of their positions and thereby may excuse their radical action. This role effectively got swapped during Trump’s presidency. The far right thought they had a free pass to commit actions in representation if their ideology and the far left pushed back against what they saw as a threat to democracy and social justice.

However, there are two reasons as to why political tensions continued to rise. First is the increasingly difficult era of social, political, and economic changes. The Gulf War, 9/11, the 2008 Recession, the rise of Russia and China as hegemonic challengers, and COVID-19 are just a few changes that spurred more radical policymaking. The commitment to party and their ideology forced moderate Republicans and Democrats to support more radical and divisive policies in order to stay true to their party. If they did not, they would be prescribed as supporting the other side and be subject to a political exile of sorts.

What started with Obama and continued with Trump will only get worse. Under Biden’s new presidency, he has made a commitment to unity and healing of the nation. However, Republicans question on whose terms they will unify under. They believe that Joe Biden is almost coercing Republicans to unify under Democrat policies they do not agree with. And resistance to these policies will make them seem like the dividers. The Democrats believe that all their policies are a reasonable response to reverse policies made during the Trump presidency.Whatever side you fall upon, it is important to be open minded and nonviolent. Only through compromise will our nation heal.