According to Gallup more Americans (56%) say they are better off than they were fours years ago, which is a just a better statistic (closest contender is 47% in 2004).
https://content.gallup.com/origin/g...duction/Cms/TGBCMS/hobqwcnhcuohd8gvv29fjq.png
Trump has managed to rally a disaffected demographic, and consumer confidence, for whatever reason, was fairly good till the pandemic hit.
But I'm talking not about the last four years, but the last 40 or more, and the dozens of small, seemingly insignificant steps that have undermined the post war economy.
My question is: Is a burger flipper at McDonalds better off today than he was 50 years ago?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/09/05/trump-obama-economy/
I think that despite the consensus about goals (and the overall prosperity enjoyed under the Trump administration), there is polarization between Democrats and Republicans. While the OP suggests that people can come together over common goals, the question remains: What is dividing the Democrats and Republicans so deeply?
The Eagles and Rattlers were essentially identical demographics, and once they realized that they were not "Others," and were working together on common goals, the animosity dissipated.
This is not the case with today's Democrats and Republicans. Whatever homogeneity they had fifty years ago is largely gone. They've sorted themselves by worldview, socio-economic status and psychological type into separate camps.
Do the people in these different parties actually have divergent goals? And, if so, what are these goals?
Broadly speaking, The Republicans are Neoliberals and conventionalists. They see the world as threatening. They support unregulated business, extreme individualism, "small government," law and orderliness, and the status quo. They lean toward authoritarianism, tribalism and anti-socialism.
The Democrats used to be the party of the people, but today are more 'Republican light'. They're the party of the technical classes. They're less tribal, more pro-social, more comfortable with novelty. They tend to have a broader, more long-term view of social, environmental and technical issues.
Today's Democrats and Republicans are different creatures, not just politically, but neurologically. They're wired differently.