Who wants to live in bigger houses, Democrats or Republicans?
How accurate was your prediction?
What most surprised you about this data?
What questions do you have about this data?
What is the big story this data tells about partisan differences in the United States?
How do you explain this partisan difference?
What is a consequence of this partisan difference?
Is this all good news?
Would you prefer to live in a community where the houses are smaller and closer together or in a community where houses are larger and farther apart?
How well does your answer match the answer of others with a similar political party affiliation?
Do you live in an community where the houses are smaller and close to each other or in a community where houses are larger and farther apart?
Why would anyone want to live in smaller houses that are close together?
Is there anything that Democrats and Republicans can still agree on?!?! Seriously, can you think of one thing they agree on?
What about the roots of liberalism and conservatism explain these ideologies differing feelings about housing size and location?
Most Republicans and Democrats agree that they want to live in a “community that is a good place to raise children.” Yay! Still, some people of both parties say that they do NOT want to live in a “community that is a good place to raise children.” What is wrong with those people?!?!
According to the data in the chart below*, a majority of Democrats want to live in a community that is racially diverse, and a majority of Republicans do NOT. Does this surprise you?
Why do you think this is?
Explain how the racial demographics of those two parties help explain these divergent views of race and community.
Would you want to live in a community that is racially diverse?
Do you think the partisan divide in America is getting bigger or smaller?
What evidence do you have to support that claim? In Federalist No. 10, James Madison wrote, “The latent causes of faction are thus sown in the nature of man; and we see them everywhere brought into different degrees of activity, according to the different circumstances of civil society. A zeal for different opinions concerning religion, concerning government, and many other points, as well of speculation as of practice; an attachment to different leaders ambitiously contending for pre-eminence and power; or to persons of other descriptions whose fortunes have been interesting to the human passions, have, in turn, divided mankind into parties, inflamed them with mutual animosity, and rendered them much more disposed to vex and oppress each other than to co-operate for their common good. “ Do you agree with Madison that mankind is divided into parties inflamed…with mutual animosity?
How do you think this partisan divide will impact the 2020 election?
According to the data most urban dwellers want to live in urban type communities and most rural dwellers want to live in rural type communities. Are you surprised that most people are happy living in the kind of place they live?
Talk to your parents/guardians/family and ask them why they live in the type of community they live in. Then ask them to answer the questions from the Pew survey (above*). Share their answers and your analysis in class or online.