By Bella Getz ’24, staff writer

I grew up knowing and hearing very little about politics. Then suddenly, it was all I heard people talk about. The past few years, political division has become much more visible to me. But the division goes further than politics. America is divided by a number of differences including values, race, culture, religion, sexuality, gender and more. What has caused this?

The worldwide pandemic may have stirred up controversy. According to Pew Research Center, 77% of Americans said the country was more divided after the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. That is over three-quarters of the United States.

Throughout the pandemic, there was controversy over everything. Democrats and Republicans had differing views on mask-wearing, getting vaccinated, contact tracing and what public health officials were doing.

The 2020 presidential election caused a huge deal of debate following the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. Pew Research found that 82% of Biden voters said that the coronavirus was very important to their vote. On the other hand, only 24% of Trump voters said that it was important to them. Furthermore, research conducted by the University of Pennsylvania found that the BLM movement encouraged swing voters more towards Biden than Trump.

In the age of social media, division only amplifies. People are constantly sharing their political and societal views on apps like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and more. The problem is that these platforms have a worldwide audience and political comments spark feud, anger and annoyance. Many people struggle to understand the opposing side, which makes division inevitable.

However, there is nothing wrong with political division. Many may feel nostalgia for times like the 1950s, but while there was maybe less polarization, there were injustices that kept many voices out of politics. Since the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement, Americans have fought even harder for minorities and equal rights. Social media has become the prime platform for advocating rights, equality, ideologies, values and beliefs.

So is America more divided than ever? I do not think there is any way to truly know. However, I believe the combination of crises, the election, the polar opposite political parties and the voice that every citizen has in politics has increased the likelihood of disagreement and division.