[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 129 (Wednesday, July 26, 2023)]
[House]
[Pages H3955-H3956]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   POLITICAL POLARIZATION IN AMERICA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Quigley) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. QUIGLEY. Mr. Speaker, today, I am reflecting on a moment that 
occurred just after I was sworn in to this office.
  My former Republican colleague Mark Kirk gave me some of the best 
advice I had ever received. He said: In the end, anything that gets 
done here that is any good gets done in the middle, through compromise.
  It begs the question: Are we currently in a position to work well 
together? Can we effectively govern?
  The fact is, right now, the occasions when we work together are few 
and far between. No established democracy in recent history has been as 
deeply polarized as the United States is now.
  A study from the National Bureau of Economic Research found that 
polarization in the U.S. has increased more dramatically since the late 
1970s than in any other country they have examined.
  We are not just uniquely polarized on the world stage. We are also 
uniquely polarized in the context of our own history.
  Here is one example. In 1960, 4 percent of Republicans and 4 percent 
of Democrats said they would be displeased if their son or daughter 
married someone of the opposite party. In 2019, that number is 45 
percent of Democrats said they would be unhappy

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if their child married a Republican, and 35 percent of Republicans said 
they would be unhappy if their child married a Democrat.
  Well, the reasons are manyfold. Americans today read less print than 
ever before. They can now pick and choose their own news, perspectives, 
and facts. Cable news channels have moved further to the extremes to 
keep their audiences engaged. When we all read news designed to affirm 
our own thoughts, we lose empathy and understanding of how other people 
come to their decisions.
  We must each take responsibility for broadening our sources. You 
don't have to seek out the opinions of extremists to do this. Seeking 
out balanced news and news sources, supporting local news, and not 
rewarding so-called hot takes with money and clicks can all get us 
closer to a return to more fact-based news.
  The rise of social media has also heightened tensions and encouraged 
extremism to flourish. In an environment where the loudest voices rise 
to the top, it is all too easy for politicians and elected officials to 
begin believing that they, too, must be the loudest, most extreme 
voice.
  The words of our leaders have always carried significant weight, but 
in today's world of heightened tensions, they have even more ability to 
shape the perceptions of our citizens. As leaders, we have a 
responsibility to cool the temperature of public discourse. Instead, 
many conservative speakers have chosen to ramp up the temperature and 
exploit the tensions that exist.
  Dangerous, polarizing rhetoric is not the answer. It is poison. 
Ultimately, we have a responsibility to lead through example in how we 
address one another.
  At the time of our greatest division, the President stressed the 
importance of leading ``with malice toward none, with charity for 
all.''
  As John Adams said: ``I fear that in every [elected office,] members 
will obtain an influence by noise, not sense; by meanness, not 
greatness; by ignorance, not learning. . . . There must be a decency 
and respect.''
  There must be decency and respect on both sides.
  Gerrymandering has also played a role in our national polarization. 
Let's look at it. Between our two parties, only about 60 of the 435 
seats in this House are truly contested in general elections. A lack of 
true swing districts means that candidates are driven to the polls to 
win their primaries and that fewer are concerned about appealing to the 
center in a general election. As a result, items that were once 
nonpartisan have become bitterly so, issues like funding the 
government, violence prevention, trade, and even raising the debt 
ceiling.
  Now, finding common ground on core issues can be nearly impossible. 
Dismantling gerrymandered districts can help put our country on the 
path of depolarization and produce a Congress and State legislatures 
that are more reflective of the majority of Americans' views.
  Our country has faced deep, polarizing challenges before. To put our 
current moment in perspective, let's look back at the words of the 
President who guided our country through the most divided of times.
  In a January 1838 speech in Springfield, Illinois, Lincoln said: ``At 
what point, then, is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, 
if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from 
abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and 
finisher.''
  We must heed the call to action from these words. We must change how 
we address our country, how we are elected, how we speak to each other, 
and how we learn and get informed. We must all learn that empathy and 
compromise should be commended, not condemned. Our success or failure 
will determine if ``any nation so conceived and so dedicated can long 
endure.''

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