The United States has become increasingly politically and morally polarized over the last several decades. The most recent analyses from Gallup, Axios, FiveThirtyEight, the Washington Post, Fox News and other traditional information outlets speak loudly to this increasing polarization: In a study dated Aug. 7, 2023, titled “Update: Partisan Gaps Expand Most on Government Power, Climate” authored by Frank Newport, Gallup analyzes changes in partisan gaps on selected issues from 2003 to 2023. From far left to far right, this analysis digs deep into the changing nature of partisanship in American attitudes over the past two decades, involving issues ranging from the breadth of government power to guns, abortion, divorce, premarital sex, climate change, immigration, the death penalty, race relations, legalization of recreational drugs and education. The bottom line is that there are large gaps in opinions on these, and other issues, left to right on the political spectrum, and these gaps have not changed significantly, in most respects, over the last 20 years.
This growing division of opinion on major topics of concern in America has crept into the arena of civil litigation and dispute resolution. As a practicing mediator over the last 20 years, I have noticed that there has developed an increasing number of cases that not only become more difficult to resolve but oftentimes come to the point of impasse, requiring very thoughtful, focused and patient handling to break through the impasse and achieve ultimate settlement and resolution of the dispute. By my observation, many parties have become much more focused or “dug in” to positions or beliefs which to me is reflective of the overall “my way or the highway” political climate that currently exists in this country.
