U.S. Political Parties - Talking Politics in American English - Vocabulary

Is it possible to talk about politics without really talking politics?

That's what I'm going to attempt to do in this video.

You can usually get into a heated discussion when you start talking politics.

That is, when you start discussing political issues.

That's because people can have very different political views - opinions.

Especially in a country as diverse as the United States.

You don't have to be a member of a political party in order to have a strong political view,

but often that's the case.

Political parties are official organizations that share the same beliefs and goals.

One word of caution: Americans don't usually ask other people directly

about their age, their religion, or their politics.

In the U.S., the two major political parties are the Democratic Party,

which tends to be more liberal and more to the left,

and the Republican Party, which tends to be more conservative and more to the right.

So American voters are usually Democrats or Republicans.

I like the town I live in because there's a good mix of the two.

And I actually think that's healthy.

These two major political parties have been around since the 1800s.

You'll see some symbols used, especially in political cartoons.

You know, those drawings that make bold statements or poke fun at people in politics.

The Democratic Party is represented by the donkey.

Republicans have a symbol, too: the elephant.

Famous Republicans include Ronald Reagan and Abraham Lincoln.

Famous Democrats include Barack Obama and John F. Kennedy.

Some key differences as I understand them are:

Democrats are more liberal and more progressive on social issues.

You'll see these differences on issues like gun control, business and education.

And think that wealthier citizens should pay higher taxes.

I'm probably simplifying the differences, but for our purposes I think that's okay.

One thing I should note:

If you're a registered voter in the United States,

you don't have to join the Republican Party or the Democratic Party.

Some voters choose to be Independent.

This means they're likely in the center on many issues.

These people in particular wait to hear the debates and the interviews before an election.

And by the way, do you know how old a U.S. citizen has to be in order to vote?

The voting age is 18.

And perhaps we'll talk more about the election process in another video.

That's all for now. Thanks for watching and happy studies!