The American flag further polarizes Democrats and Republicans.

Image: Flickr/Karsun DesignsHappy Fourth of July! If your town is anything like mine, you're seeing American flags all over the place. And guess what? Those American flags aren't just pretty decorations. Like many other symbolic icons, seeing an American flag can change how you feel. For example, it might make you feel patriotic. And, at least according to this study, seeing an American flag tends to make Republicans more Republican and Democrats more Democratic. The authors speculate that this is because that's what being an American means to each of these political parties. Just what we need - more political polarization!Exposure to the American flag polarizes democratic-republican ideologies. "Some prior research has suggested that exposure to the American flag tilts Americans towards Republicanism, while others have proffered that it brings outs a common 'together' perspective instead. We explore a third possibility - that it may actually polarize Americans' political ideology. ...