Even the Supreme Court’s conservative justices are polarized about the state of American politics

Is political polarization ripping America apart? Two Supreme Court justices have very different answers. Douglas Rissing/iStock / Getty Images Plus

Polarization is both essential to a functioning democracy and a threat to it.

Too little disagreement among citizens and leaders is unlikely to produce the fruitful political debate that leads to better policy and law. Too much dissension – especially if groups form opposing camps closed off from one another – may result in violence and destroy democracy.