Nigel, this is a pretty accurate assessment of where we are at in the US, hat tip to LB:
lilac rose:
Fighting a Cold Civil War
That phrase came to me a couple of weeks ago when I was thinking about the elections and all the anger going on...the whole blue vs. red thing. The phrase came up again this morning when I was discussing all this with my co-workers. So I Googled it...lots of other pundits and bloggers were writing about this at least a year ago. Maybe I read one of those articles and just didn't remember, but the phrase stuck in my mind. Anyway, I think it's accurate.
As far as I'm concerned, the differences are irreconcilable. One part of the country wants a socialist, European-style country. The other part wants a country based on free-enterprise and the Constitution. One side has disdain for orthodox Judeo-Christian faiths, whereas the other side embraces or at least tolerates those beliefs. One part believes that if we just let down our defenses, everything would be peace and lovebeads. The other part knows we live in a dangerous world and that defense is essential.
However this election turns out, there will be turmoil. If Obama wins, a large part of the country will feel angry and powerless against the will of the left leaning blue states, the news media, Hollywood and academia. (In fact, they already feel that way, I assure you.) They will believe that ACORN created enough false voter registrations to put Obama over the top. If McCain wins, the left will riot and claim, "The Diebold machines were hacked!" The blue states, the news media, Hollywood and academia will resent that the will of the "dumb hicks" in flyover country overruled that of their "betters". And we will hear the cries of, "Racism! Racism!" ad nauseam.
I hate to sound all doom-and-gloom, but I see absolutely no solution to this. Or at least no solution in which America stays in the same form it is now. I hope I'm wrong about that. I guess we'll see.
lilacrose.nu |
