i think it is naive to think in terms of single influeces. that is only necessary when you are trying to isolate the effects of different things upon something rather than the opposite. i do think that politics has an overarching impact on the usa in two senses a) that it affects all people (but i do not believe this necessitates a uniform response as "politics" is a compliation of many things and persons respond to different facets of it) 2) if you go back far enough in the chain of influence you eventually find everything being interrelated.