The New Segregation: This Time It's Political

The good news? Apathy is on the decline. The bad news? The new political activism is tearing the country apart, writes Gregory Rodriguez in the Los Angeles Times, with political divides turning into geographic ones, too. The country is segregating itself according to politics, moving to areas full of like-minded people. In 1976, only 38% of counties saw partisan landslides of 20% or more; in 2004, 60% did.

Part of that change is driven by congressional gerrymandering, but people are also moving into political echo chambers. The result is fewer moderates, a decline in real dialogue—less than 25% regularly talk with ideological opponents—and a static, consensus-deprived nation. (More partisanship stories.)