We are in a state of complete deadlock on the issue, which is no doubt why Congress has proved utterly incapable of resolving it — and why the Trump administration’s hard-right actions have provoked spasms of outrage among Democrats. Both parties consider immigration an issue of great importance (with 88 percent of Republicans and 80 percent of Democrats labeling it as such), but the overlap between them in how to address the issue is nil. Each wants to move in a contrary direction, turning any move into an act of partisan provocation.
When following the news, writing checks to or knocking on doors for a party, showing up to vote, and deciding whether to take to the street in protest, each individual needs to make a decision about where to come down on these disagreements. But when we try to understand or grasp the whole of the country and its political dilemmas, it’s crucial to adopt a different perspective — one above the political fray. The Economist/YouGov poll helps us to do that. And what it shows us is a country in serious trouble, its institutions buckling from stress caused by an electorate that no longer inhabits a world of common concerns and priorities.
The problem, it seems, is us.
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