^I've heard a saying that goes:
"Christians help people to please their God, to help them getting into Heaven and to follow the teachings of Christ. Atheists help people because they're nice."
Read into that whatever you want. Copypaste it anywhere on the Internet, though, and you'll see the real problem. Deck Knight makes a very valid point about that. I'm going to paraphrase him to get mine across:
"Atheists at large doesn't trust Christians because the most public [vocal] Christians available have never given them any reason to believe there's a difference between a Spanish Inquisitor (or a Westboro Baptist if you prefer) and a regular Christian."
Short-sightedness on behalf of both parties in the debate polarize the discussion to the point we see today. Republicans bash Democrats, Democrats bash Republicans. And the media hypes it all up, amplifies the critizising voices and throws some fuel on the fire now and then because that's what sells. Everything is boiled down to a simple "us vs. them" situation where only one side can be correct, and you know very well what side that is, don't you?
Go to any YouTube video with more than a million views. Scroll down to the comments section. Somewhere, a guy is calling somebody else a nazi, and a bunch of people have an argument of evolution vs. creationism, the existence of God, or both (regardless of what the video is about).
People love a good fight. Both reading something that you agree with and reading something you strongly disagree with trigger the same place in the brain. And it's really easy when it's a matter of black and white, with one side absolutely right and one absolutely wrong. You pick a side, jump into the nearest trench and start defending your views/attacking the views of others. Just have a look at the news, or the Internet in general and see how glaringly often a debate is portrayed as a question of A or B. Be it abortion, gay rights, rights to bear arms, rights to arm bears, evolution or creationism, Excadrill for OU or Ubers, legalization of marijuana, the actions in Libya, universal healthcare, Democrat or Republican president for 2013.
I think this is what makes American politics what it is today. Traditionally, there have been two parties. People pick a side, and start flinging poop at the others. Nobody focuses attention in any other directions, apart from the times when some comedian makes a funny point on how both happen to be wrong. Society is forcing everybody to pick a side, and fight for it, because if the other side won, it would be devastating for the country.
Every now and then, look at the shades of grey. Or gray, whatever you want to call it. If everybody just tried to look at things from each other's point of view, the world would arguably be a lot better place.