"Coming from Ireland, I am always struck by how passionate people are about political parties. Most people I’ve met consider themselves on the left (Democrat) o

"Coming from Ireland, I am always struck by how passionate people are about political parties. Most people I’ve met consider themselves on the left (Democrat) or on the right (Republican). When I ask them how they pick a side, they speak about how their ethical and moral values form the basis for their worldview, and help them choose a side. " The author is misguided in attributing the "left-right" divide in America to national temperament. There is a much more satisfying explanation: Ireland has as proportional representation in multi-member districtions with a single transferable vote. The U.S. has first past the post elections in single member districts. The latter necessarily generates a two party system and an associated coarsening of political discourse. This is not to say that electoral system reform would lead to social harmony. But the peculiar nature of our rancor is a product of our electoral methods. If we adopted PR, we could have a legislature that reflected the true diversity of political opinion, geography, ethnicity, gender, etc. in the electorate. https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/government-in-ireland/elections-and-referenda/voting/proportional-representation/ https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/government-in-ireland/...