How The Left and Right See The World

Left

Advocates for a proactive role of government in regulating the economy and providing social welfare programs.

Supports worker protections, unionization, and policies aimed at enhancing workplace safety and ensuring fair wages.

Emphasizes the importance of investing in infrastructure, education, healthcare, and renewable energy as key drivers of economic growth.

Right

Advocates for minimal government intervention in the economy, emphasizing free-market principles and a reduction in regulations.

Supports lower taxes, particularly for businesses and high-income individuals, as a strategy to stimulate economic growth.

Prioritizes balanced budgets, debt reduction, and limited government spending to promote economic stability.

Policies supported by the Left:

• Universal Healthcare
• Progressive Taxation
• Minimum Wage Increase
• Green New Deal

Policies supported by the Right:

• Tax Cuts
• Deregulation
• Privatization
• Balanced Budget Amendment

How Each Side’s Views Affect Income Inequality

Income inequality is a significant issue influenced by the economic policies proposed by both the left and the right. Here’s an overview of how each side’s policies can affect income inequality:

• Left (Progressive) Policies:
  • Tax the Rich: Progressive policies, including progressive taxation, minimum wage increases, and social welfare programs, aim to reduce income inequality by redistributing wealth and providing support to lower-income individuals.
  • Encourage Equality: These policies can help narrow the wealth gap by ensuring that high-income earners contribute more through taxes and that low-wage workers gain access to essential services and resources.
• Right (Conservative) Policies:
  • Deregulation: Conservative policies such as tax cuts, deregulation, and privatization may produce mixed effects on income inequality. While lower taxes and deregulation can stimulate economic growth, they may also disproportionately benefit higher-income individuals, potentially exacerbating income disparities.
  • Not Everyone Is Equal: Although these policies promote entrepreneurship and efficiency, they may not directly address income inequality, leading to a concentration of wealth among the affluent.

Understanding the complex interplay of these economic policies is crucial for assessing their impact on income inequality.

Race Relations

The perspectives on race often differ between the left and the right in the political spectrum. Here are some general differences in how the two sides view race:

Left

Emphasizes systemic racism and structural inequalities affecting marginalized communities.

Supports movements like Black Lives Matter that aim to combat racial discrimination and police brutality.

Frequently focuses on issues of social justice, equality, and representation for minority groups.

Right

Emphasizes individual responsibility and meritocracy, advocating for a colorblind society.

Criticizes identity politics and affirmative action as forms of reverse discrimination.

Often highlights the importance of traditional values, limited government intervention, and equal treatment under the law.

Policies supported by the Left:

• Criminal Justice Reform
• Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives
• Police Reform

Policies supported by the Right:

• Colorblind Policies
• Community Policing
• Individual Empowerment Programs

How Each Side’s Views Affect Equality Under The Law

The policies of the left and right regarding race relations have significant implications for equality under the law. Here’s an overview of how these policies may impact equality:

• Left (Progressive) Policies on Race Relations:
  • Equal Protection: Progressive policies prioritize equal protection under the law for all individuals, regardless of race, ethnicity, or background, with the aim of addressing systemic discrimination and promoting social justice.
  • Diversity and Inclusion: By embracing diversity and inclusion, progressive policies seek to enhance representation and opportunities for marginalized communities, fostering a more equitable society.
  • Civil Rights Protections: Advocacy for civil rights protections, anti-discrimination laws, and affirmative action programs helps address historical injustices and promotes fairness in areas such as employment and education.
• Right (Conservative) Policies on Race Relations:
  • Color-Blind Approach: Conservative policies often emphasize a color-blind approach, focusing on individual merit and equal treatment under the law without specific considerations based on race or ethnicity.
  • Merit-Based Policies: Support for merit-based initiatives that prioritize qualifications and performance over identity factors is viewed as a means to promote fairness and equal opportunity for all individuals.
  • Limited Government Intervention: Advocating for limited government intervention in race-related issues and promoting self-reliance and personal responsibility shapes conservative approaches to equality under the law.

The differing approaches of the left and right on race relations influence the strategies and policies implemented to address racial disparities and promote equality. Understanding these perspectives is essential for developing effective measures to combat discrimination, advance civil rights, and ensure justice for all individuals in society.

More to Explore

The task of bringing America together again is something that involves every one of us, and that involves way more than we can fit into a book.

That’s why we created a website to compliment this book.

Identity Politics

Contrasting views on identity politics reflect broader ideological differences in how the left and right approach issues of diversity, inclusivity, and social justice.

Left

The left often views identity politics as a means to acknowledge and amplify the voices and experiences of marginalized groups, including BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), LGBTQ+ individuals, women, and other historically disadvantaged communities.

Embracing identity politics can foster diversity, inclusion, and equity by addressing systemic inequalities and advocating for policies that uplift underrepresented groups.

The left typically adopts an intersectional approach to identity politics, recognizing that individuals may possess multiple intersecting identities that influence their experiences and perspectives on social issues.

Right

The right often critiques identity politics for prioritizing group identity over individual merit, viewing it as divisive and potentially leading to discrimination or favoritism based on identity factors.

Conservative perspectives on identity politics emphasize individualism and merit-based principles, highlighting personal responsibility, hard work, and character over group affiliation or identity markers.

The right advocates for a unifying national identity that transcends individual identity categories, promoting a shared sense of patriotism, values, and citizenship.

Policies supported by the Left:

• Affirmative Action
• Diversity Training
• Gender Pay Equity

Policies supported by the Right:

• Merit-Based Admissions
• National Unity Initiatives

How Each Side’s Views Affect Policy Discussions

The differing views on identity politics between the left and right significantly influence policy discussions and debates. Here’s how these contrasting perspectives shape the dialogue:

• Left (Progressive) Policies on Identity Politics:
  • Promote Diversity: The left supports affirmative action policies in education and employment to address historical discrimination and promote diversity by considering race, gender, and ethnicity in admissions and hiring processes.
  • Color-Blind Approach: The left advocates for LGBTQ+ rights, supporting anti-discrimination laws and inclusive policies to protect and affirm diverse sexual orientations and gender identities, aiming to advance equality and acceptance for LGBTQ+ individuals.
• Right (Conservative) Policies on Identity Politics:
  • Find the Best Candidate: The right critiques affirmative action as promoting preferential treatment based on identity factors, advocating for merit-based approaches that prioritize qualifications and individual merit over race or gender considerations.
  • Traditional Viewpoints: The right prioritizes traditional values and religious freedom in debates over LGBTQ+ rights, raising concerns about the impact of policies on family structures and societal norms.

America Is in Crisis

A look at the United States today shows a country that is very divided.

Key to understanding that divide is a look at two major events in recent history, the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020 and the Capitol Protests of January 6, 2021.

Each event provides a unique look at how the differences have manifested themselves in America today.

Understanding the Events That Shook the Nation

In times of crisis, the true character of a nation is revealed. Over the past few years, the United States has faced deep political and social upheaval, but few moments have tested our national identity like the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020 and the January 6th Capitol riot.

These events exposed the growing divide in how Americans see justice, democracy, and the role of government. They were not just political moments; they were emotional, visceral, and deeply personal for millions of people across the country.

The protests that erupted in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd were fueled by years of frustration over racial injustice and police violence. Supporters saw these demonstrations as a long-overdue demand for accountability, a fight for the country to live up to its promise of “liberty and justice for all.” Opponents, however, saw the riots, property damage, and violent clashes with police as evidence of lawlessness and chaos. The left largely viewed the protests as a necessary movement for civil rights, while the right saw them as a breakdown of law and order.

Just a few months later, protests of another sort developed in the country. These particular protests did not happen in streets, across the country, they took place in our nation’s capitol.

On January 6, 2021, thousands of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Many of those who participated believed they were defending democracy against a fraudulent election, acting on what they saw as patriotism. Others saw the attack as an act of domestic terrorism—an assault on the very foundation of American democracy. The right often framed the rioters as misguided but passionate Americans, while the left viewed them as a dangerous threat to the rule of law.

These two events were very different in nature, but they share something important: they illustrate how Americans live in vastly different realities depending on their political perspective.

If we ever hope to bridge the divides in our country, we must first understand them.

The Local Protest That Took Over The World

The tragic death of George Floyd became a flashpoint for deep-seated anger and frustration over racial injustice, police brutality, and systemic inequality. The 2020 Black Lives Matter protests highlighted the stark ideological divide between the political left and right in the United States.

George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, was murdered by a police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest. Derek Chauvin, the officer in question, knelt on Floyd’s neck for over eight minutes, even as Floyd repeatedly begged for his life. The viral video of the killing sparked outrage across the U.S. and quickly spread to other parts of the world. Floyd’s death, combined with the long history of racial violence against Black Americans, became a symbol of systemic racism and a rallying cry for activists and ordinary people alike.

A Brief Timeline of Minneapolis Protests

The murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, ignited a series of protests and events that significantly impacted the city and resonated worldwide.

The story began with a report of a fake $20 bill. A report was made on the evening of May 25, 2020, when Mr. Floyd bought a pack of cigarettes from Cup Foods, a grocery store. Believing the $20 bill he used to be counterfeit, a store employee reported it to police.

At around 8:08 PM, two police officers arrived and approached Mr. Floyd, who was sitting with two other people in a car parked around the corner. After approaching the car, one of the officers, Thomas Lane, pulled out his gun and ordered Mr. Floyd to show his hands. Prosecutors do not explain why Mr. Lane thought it necessary to draw his gun.

Mr. Lane, prosecutors said, “put his hands on Mr. Floyd and pulled him out of the car.” Then Mr. Floyd “actively resisted being handcuffed.” Once handcuffed, Mr. Floyd became compliant while Mr. Lane explained he was being arrested for “passing counterfeit currency.” Court transcripts from police body cameras show Mr Floyd appears cooperative at the beginning of the arrest, repeatedly apologizing to the officers after they approach his parked car.

Mr. Chauvin arrived at the scene approximately 8:19 PM and, along with other officers, attempted to put Mr. Floyd in the police car. During this attempt, Mr. Chauvin pulled Mr. Floyd away from the passenger side, causing him to fall to the ground, the report said. He lay there, face down, still in handcuffs.

That’s when witnesses started to film Mr. Floyd, who appeared to be in a distressed state. These moments, captured on multiple mobile phones and shared widely on social media, would prove to be Mr. Floyd’s last. Mr. Floyd was restrained by officers, while Mr. Chauvin placed his left knee between his head and neck. For more than nine minutes, Mr Chauvin kept his knee on Mr Floyd’s neck. At 8:27, Mr. Chauvin removed his knee from Mr. Floyd’s neck. Mr. Floyd was rolled onto a gurney and taken to the Hennepin County Medical Center in an ambulance. He was pronounced dead about an hour later.

May 26, 2020: Police issue a statement saying Floyd died after a “medical incident” and that he physically resisted. Video of Floyd’s death circulates widely. Protests begin in Minneapolis. Demonstrations quickly spread to other cities across the United States.

May 27, 2020: Protests intensify in Minneapolis, with thousands gathering at the site of Floyd’s death and the Minneapolis Police Department’s Third Precinct. Throughout the day, Minneapolis police responded to the protests by firing rubber bullets into the crowd below.

May 28, 2020: Gov. Tim Walz activates the Minnesota National Guard. Police abandon the 3rd Precinct station as protesters overtake it and set it on fire. About three miles west of the Third Precinct, protesters blanketed the area near the Fifth Precinct, heavily damaging at least seven buildings—including a U.S. Post Office, a Wells Fargo branch, a staffing agency, and a Subway in a nearby strip mall.

May 29, 2020: Officer Derek Chauvin is arrested and charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz activates the National Guard to assist local law enforcement in managing the escalating unrest.

June 1, 2020: Autopsy reports classify Floyd’s death as a homicide, confirming that he died from cardiopulmonary arrest while being restrained by law enforcement officers. Protests continue nationwide, with many remaining peaceful, while some cities experience further clashes between demonstrators and police.

April 20, 2021: After a high-profile trial, Derek Chauvin is found guilty on all charges: second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. The verdict is met with widespread relief and seen as a significant moment in the pursuit of police accountability.

Other US Protests

An overarching theme throughout the protests was that the actions of police were greatly underreported in real time. In cities throughout the country, police seemed to respond to largely peaceful protests with violence.

While the left continues to believe in the original goals of the protest, believing that police in America tend to enact violence upon the black community at a level far higher than they should, the right tends to support the police over the black community.

Since 2015, white supremacists in several states, especially members of the Texas-based white supremacist group Aryan Renaissance Society, have promoted the slogan “White Lives Matter” with flyers and protests, forming a loose campaign to popularize the phrase.

More than eight in ten Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (85%) express at least some support, including 48% who strongly support the movement. In contrast, most Republicans and those who lean to the GOP (78%) say they oppose the Black Lives Matter movement, with 58% saying they strongly oppose it, according to a poll by Pew Research.

The Attack On The Capitol

On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., was stormed by supporters of then President Donald J. Trump. This unprecedented event aimed to disrupt the certification of the 2020 presidential election results, in which Joe Biden was declared the winner.

The political right tends to view the people who orchestrated the attack, who were later prosecuted for their actions, as political hostages. The political left views the orchestrators of the attack as insurrectionists who attempted to overthrow the results of a free and fair election.

These assertions galvanized many of his supporters to gather in Washington, D.C., on the day Congress was set to certify the Electoral College results. During a rally near the White House, President Trump addressed the crowd, urging them to march to the Capitol to “peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard” but also to “show strength” and “fight like hell.”

The Rally Begins

At a rally organized by Trump at a public park adjacent to the White House, thousands gathered, including individuals affiliated with paramilitary groups and various right-wing extremists. They listened to speeches from Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and his sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, among others.

In his address, which commenced around noon, Trump reiterated familiar false claims and conspiracy theories regarding the alleged stolen election. He urged Vice President Pence to obstruct Congress’s certification of the electoral college vote, asserting that if Pence did not intervene, the rally attendees would not permit the confirmation to proceed, stating, “We’re just not going to let that happen.” He encouraged the crowd to march down Pennsylvania Avenue towards the Capitol and implored them to “fight like hell” or risk losing their country.

The Breach of the Capitol

Before Trump concluded his speech shortly after 1:00 PM, as Congress was convening, a mob of his supporters—including members of extremist groups like the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and Three Percenters, as well as self-identified followers of the QAnon conspiracy—breached the barriers at the Capitol’s western perimeter, forcing Capitol Police to retreat to more secure positions.

The crowd swelled as more individuals arrived from the rally, overwhelming the Capitol Police, who were bolstered by reinforcements from the Metropolitan Police Department. Many officers faced brutal assaults with lethal weapons such as bats, pipes, and flagpoles, were subjected to chemical irritants, or were crushed and trampled by the advancing mob.

By around 2:00 pm, the protesters had effectively overstepped the last defense on the western side of the Capitol, making their way up the stairs and scaling the walls of the West Terrace. At the same time, another faction had also breached the defenses on the eastern side of the Capitol. Shortly after 2:00 pm, the rioters shattered windows to access the western part of the building.

Over the ensuing hours, they vandalized and pilfered the interior, ransacking offices in search of those they considered enemies within Congress. They particularly focused on Pence, whom they branded a traitor for his refusal to interfere in the congressional tallying of electoral votes.

In response, the governors of Virginia and Maryland dispatched National Guard units and state troopers to help secure the building; however, due to bureaucratic delays, the District of Columbia National Guard was not activated until approximately three hours after the attack commenced. The Capitol was finally cleared of rioters around 6 pm, roughly four hours after they first breached the building. Most of the assailants were not apprehended on-site and simply left the area.

Congress continued its counting of electoral votes, officially certifying Biden as the victor of the 2020 presidential election in the early hours of January 7.

Ongoing Investigations and Prosecutions

On January 8, Trump was suspended from Twitter for posting tweets that violated the platform’s policy against glorifying violence, both before, during, and after the Capitol assault. A Justice Department report released in July 2021 indicated that around 140 officers from the Capitol and Metropolitan police were assaulted by rioters during the January 6 incident. Among the injured, one officer died from a series of strokes following hospitalization for injuries sustained during the attack, while two others took their own lives. Additionally, one rioter was shot and killed by police, another suffered a fatal heart attack, and a third was reportedly crushed by the crowd. The rioters inflicted an estimated $1.5 million in damage to the Capitol building.

The incident has led to increased scrutiny of domestic extremism and discussions about the security of democratic institutions.

How the Left and the Right view the Capitol Attack

Confronting uncomfortable truths, rebuilding institutional trust, and addressing political extremism’s root causes will determine whether America can find common ground amid the January 6 aftermath. Without these efforts, the ideological chasm dividing Americans will only deepen.

The Left Sees: The left’s perspective frames the event as not only a violent uprising but also an existential threat to American democracy, driven by the refusal to accept the legitimacy of the 2020 election results. The left believes the attack exposed the rise of far-right extremism, including white nationalism and conspiracy theories. They unanimously condemn the violence that occurred on January 6. According to their view, Trump’s false claims of widespread voter fraud, which numerous courts and election officials debunked, set the stage for the violent actions that followed. Left-wing leaders and commentators often describe the attack as an attempted coup or insurrection, which could have escalated into something even more violent had law enforcement not intervened.

The Right Sees: The right’s perspective on the January 6 Capitol attack emphasizes political polarization, a belief in widespread election fraud, and skepticism about the government’s response.

Comparing BLM Protests To The Attack On The Capitol

The narrative of the events surrounding the death of George Floyd seems to depend greatly on who is telling the story. Many right-wingers will swear that a group they call Antifa joined with the black community to riot and burn down the city of Minneapolis. They define Antifa as a group that is radically anti-Trump, insistent on doing whatever is necessary to defy him. Ironically, the name Antifa is short for anti-fascist. They are saying that the group that is against Trump is against fascism. Funny how they don’t seem to see the irony in the name itself.

In reality, the protests happening at this time could be interpreted as a group of protesters reacting to the police declaring war on them. The Washington Post created an incredible reconstruction of the week’s events by stitching together cell phone video lining up times and locations for the week following the death of George Floyd.

Regardless of what you may have heard about the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, even a brief look at this recreation will likely cause you to look at these protests in a different way.

It’s a common refrain from some of those charged in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol and their Republican allies that the Justice Department is treating them harshly because of their political views while those arrested during BLM protests were given leniency. Court records tell a different story. An Associated Press review of court documents in more than 300 federal cases stemming from the protests sparked by George Floyd’s death shows that dozens of people charged have been convicted of serious crimes and sent to prison. The AP found that more than 120 defendants across the United States have pleaded guilty or were convicted at trial of federal crimes, including rioting, arson, and conspiracy. More than 70 defendants who’ve been sentenced have received an average of about 27 months behind bars. At least 10 received prison terms of five years or more.

A study by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) found that over 93% of the Black Lives Matter protests were peaceful.

The dissonance between the rhetoric of Capitol rioters and their supporters and the record established by courts highlights both the racial tension inherent in their arguments—the pro-Donald Trump rioters were largely white and BLM’s protesters were more diverse—and the flawed assessment at the heart of their claims.

Conservatives have sought to equate the attack on the Capitol with the Black Lives Matter protests, accusing Democrats of being hypocrites for not denouncing the violence after Floyd’s death as loudly as the Jan. 6 insurrection.

President Donald Trump, on his first full day in office of his second term, decided to grant clemency and pardons to people convicted of assaulting police officers during the 2021 attack on the Capitol and suggested there could be a place in American politics for the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, extremist groups whose leaders were convicted of seditious conspiracy against the U.S.

The demonstrations after Floyd’s death were largely peaceful calls to address racial inequality and police brutality that occasionally turned violent. In some cities, protests descended into chaos after dark, with people smashing windows, looting stores, setting fires, and assaulting officers.

How The Media Continues To Shape Public Opinion

Liberal media outlets like The New York Times, CNN, and MSNBC largely focus on the attack as a dangerous attempt to subvert democracy, emphasizing the role of Trump’s rhetoric in inciting violence. They frame the attack as an existential threat to American democratic institutions and the rule of law.

For the right, the event was seen as the culmination of widespread dissatisfaction with the 2020 election and an expression of frustration at what they perceive as a stolen election. Even after winning the 2024 election, Trump continues to champion the false narrative that he was the true winner of the election in 2020.

Conservative outlets like Fox News and Newsmax tended to emphasize the role of election fraud claims in fueling the protests, framing the Capitol attack as an expression of frustration with a rigged political system. Their false narrative of the 2020 election continues to this day. Even after losing a lawsuit that forced Fox News to pay $787.5 million because of their lies in their coverage of the 2020 election, they continue to create a false narrative of daily events, leading to massive disinformation that informs the right’s vision of the political landscape.

For the left, the attack was a clear and dangerous assault on democracy, largely fueled by the lies of former President Trump and extremist elements within his base.

Despite these stark differences, there are some areas where the left and right may find common ground. Both sides agree that political violence should not be condoned, even if they disagree on the scale of the violence or the motivations behind it.

America In Crisis