Where could we possibly start? As a first step, we can look to other nations that were once deeply divided, and learn from their efforts to address their difficult histories in pursuit of accountability and justice. To forge a path ahead, Americans must acknowledge our problematic past and collectively commit to upholding the principle of liberty and justice for all. Because Americans can’t even agree on basic truths about our history of exclusion, slavery, and Jim Crow segregation, we have become mired in contentious debates about what role, if any, the government should play in addressing past injustices and their present-day legacies. But a root cause of our faltering democracy may be our failure to grapple with the truth about the nation’s history of discrimination and institutionalized racism. Still, the degree of agreement on the fundamentals of the invasion is remarkable and seems likely to persist.Can democracy stand the test of time? Many factors have triggered the deep schism in American politics today. For example, Republicans’ support for sanctions falls-more than Democrats’ support does-if sanctions lead to an increase in fuel prices. These opinions are not set in stone, especially in an election year. For the first time in a long while, Americans on both sides of the aisle find themselves agreeing on something important. Aside from Tucker Carlson and Steve Bannon, who celebrate Russia’s dictator because he’s “anti-woke,” the answer is no. Many political commentators have wondered whether former President Trump’s evident sympathy for Vladimir Putin fundamentally altered the views of the Republican Party about Russia. Across party lines, they oppose promising Russia that Ukraine will never join NATO, they oppose allowing Russia more influence in former Soviet countries, and they oppose pulling back NATO troop deployments in Eastern Europe. 54% of both Democrats and Republicans favor sending troops to reinforce our NATO allies in Eastern Europe, but there is bipartisan opposition to sending US forces to fight the Russians in Ukraine.Īmericans are in no mood to end the war by rewarding Russian aggression. Supermajorities of both parties favor imposing economic sanctions on Russia and Putin and sending financial aid and weapons to Ukraine. There is also a strong bipartisan consensus on how the United States should respond to the Russian invasion. 46% of Democrats and Republicans fear that war between the United States and Russia is very or somewhat likely. Large majorities of both parties believe that what happens in both Russia and Ukraine affects the United States “a lot.” 49% of Democrats and 48% of Republicans believe that Russia is “an immediate and serious threat” to the United States, and majorities of both political parties think that the chance of a new Cold War is higher than it was five years ago. These attitudes represent more than moral sympathy for Ukraine’s heroism in the face of Russian aggression. Huge majorities of both Democrats and Republicans believe that Russia wants to reestablish the border of the Soviet Union and that Ukraine wishes to remain independent. About 8 in 10 Democrats and Republicans sympathize more with Ukraine than Russia, and three quarters say they care who wins the war. Polling conducted right before Biden’s speech showed that the people are paying attention, with 65% saying they’ve heard a lot about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
To an extent rarely seen these days, the American people are united across lines of partisanship, ideology, race, and ethnicity-indeed, across every demographic marker-on the nature of the threat, who is responsible for the war, and how to respond to it. But was this show of unity just a passing response to the emotions of the moment?