us v. them

i've noticed a definite trend in america lately...that everyone is noticing a different trend in america. and it's always a group of people against another group. maybe it's because it's just our human nature to want to find enemy. maybe it's because our political system is set up to support the necessity of a binary. either way, people think there is a war between the democrats and the republicans, or the city folk and the middle americans, or team edward vs team i really don't care.
now, let's be clear. this isn't just a recent phenomenon, nor does it just apply to huge generalized concepts. people have been forced to pick a side after two friends break up for centuries. people have asked each other whether they're a dog person or a cat person since the respective animals have been domesticated. i just have a lingering question...simply put, why do we care? there's this bit in the little prince about how adults only care about things that are meaningless about each other. it's just a thought, but maybe we should start putting some effort into caring about things that actually matter. i'll be the first to admit that i'm ready to judge a republican cat lover as much as the next girl. but i'm also smart enough to try not to. to try to meet people and ask "what do you think is important about you?" instead of "do you listen to pop music?" then the premise isn't us vs. them, just us.