Does political partisanship at national level reflect divide in U.S.?
Christopher Dixon  My first real thoughts on the age-old question were at some point during my junior year of college at Missouri State. Of course there is no correct answer, but when youre a college kid who enjoys philosophical discussions, that particular question will make you feel like youre tackling one of the bigger questions of life. That same question has come to mind after reflecting on the last few years of hyper-partisanship and extreme polarization, particularly in politics at the national level. That might seem too harsh, but I dont see state lawmakers going to quite such extremes (at least not yet). And we certainly dont see the name-calling and ugliness at the local level. When reflecting on the last few years, it seems like never before has Mark Twains saying seemed more relevant: Politicians are like diapers; they should be changed often and for the same reason. Our family was traveling last week for the first time since lockdown. We encountered and visited with people from all over the nation. Granted, the discussions were surface-level and so the evidence is very anecdotal at best. But people from all over the country (and elsewhere) seem to be kind, friendly, and ready to move forward and past a worldwide pandemic as soon as possible. Im sure there would have been some disagreement about a whole host of issues if some of those discussions had gone deeper. Regardless, we didnt see or hear any of the nonsense that comes out of the mouths of our elected representatives. Probably like the relationship between art and life, the answer is complex. Perhaps we can avoid that same vitriol and nonsense at the state and local level that we see at the national level. Otherwise, the words from the Black Eyed Peas would ring a little too close to home when they sang, I think the whole world addicted to the drama.  Maybe we can leave the drama for the clowns. Christopher Dixon is a financial advisor and lives in Springfield with his family.