I also believe democracy is "working as expected".

It's hard to see locally, but we're a country that's deeply divided on some core issues. Half the country wants gay marriage, the other half doesn't. A single-payer-advocating socialist almost won the Democratic primary, where his opponent is talking seriously about trying to "roll back" the ACA ("Obamacare"), this president's legacy domestic policy achievement.

I feel like half the country wants to become more like Europe -- more socialist, higher minimum wage, high taxes, big social safety net, free universities, lots of job protections (and the reluctance to hire that goes with it), minimal/no religion, less marriage, whereas the other half wants to step back about 50 years to picket fences, nuclear families, and a more isolated national existence.

We aren't going to have another civil war but I wouldn't be surprised if, looking back, we're more ideologically divided now than the country was, then.

That divide is fabricated by political strategists (see "wedge issues"). When you talk to people about topics where the parties haven't staked out a position yet most people are willing to compromise or simply don't care.

> Half the country wants gay marriage, the other half doesn't.

closer to 2/3 : 1/3 than half/half [0]

[0] http://www.gallup.com/poll/117328/marriage.aspx

As many American soldiers died in the Civil War as in every other war we've ever fought combined. If we were as divided now as we were then, I think it'd be surprising as hell.

The Civil War didn't occur just because of how deep the divisions were, but because they were strongly correlated with geography and not strongly correlated with class (particularly, that the divisions were quite present among the upper class with disproportionate influence on governments, and, while not perfectly aligned with geography, strongly correlated with it especially among the upper classes.)

The same degree of division with different geographic and class distribution could very well not have similar results.

My senators are douchebags. They (almost purposefully) split on nearly every important vote, thereby saving the 'state' from being on the 'losing' side... never mind having a united front on anything...

we definitely need term limits.