Abstract
Consensus surrounding America’s national identity is withering, generating in its stead perceptions that certain groups of citizens are un-American. While not a new phenomenon, un-American labels in current public opinion have assumed a more troubling form as they reflect a polarized and sorted two-party system. To understand how Americans psychologically make sense of the politically rancorous nation in which they live, I propose a theory of exclusionary partisan national identity wherein the landscape of 21st century American citizenry is too dissimilar for its members to differentiate between the American "us" and the un-American "them." This diverse social landscape, on its own, is insufficient to make people view their fellow citizens as un-American. Political leaders must alert citizens that their country contains others who do not look, feel, or think like them. These conditions are satisfied in current American politics, where partisan conflict weaponizes American identity for political gain.