Decius wrote:
] Things are often funny because they are true. I'm watching the
] Daily Show right now, and they just made a point that made me
] laugh out loud at first and then, well, it really pissed me
] off. It goes back to previous comments I've made about the
] split in this country being urban vs. rural.
]
] As we know, voters for Bush overwhelming said Moral Values and
] Terrorism where their top concerns in the election. Voters for
] Kerry cited Iraq and the Economy. See the BBC article in my
] MemeStream.
]
] Now, consider that by and large the "Red States" where people
] are really concerned about Terrorism are places where there is
] almost no practical risk of a Terrorist attack. Al'Q is not
] going to set off a dirty bomb in Nebraska. Al'Q is not going
] to deploy chemical weapons in Arkansas. Al'Q is not going to
] crash airplanes into buildings in Montana. There are several
] exceptions to this, but most of the places where the risk of
] Terrorism exists are "Blue States."
]
] Manhatten, where terrorist attacks actually occured, and is
] still the highest risk area, voted Kerry by 82%!
] Washington DC, where terrorist attacks actually occured, and
] is still the second highest risk area, voted Kerry by 90%!
]
] Furthermore, even in "Red States" any terrorist attack is
] still likely to happen in an Urban area. The urban counties in
] Atlanta went Kerry by 60% and 73%. There are only two places
] that I can find in the entire country that stand a reasonable
] risk of being hit by a Terrorist attack that voted for Bush.
] Houston and Dallas. Thats it.
]
] The Daily show went on to note that the gay people that the
] Red states are so concerned about also tend to live in urban
] areas.
]
] Their response, from New York, was to thank the Red States for
] "saving us from ourselves."

I have to say that I think you've hit the nail on the head. The division of our country is not a religious one or even a 'moral values' one. There are plenty of religious people in cities. There are plenty of immoral people in the rural areas. It's not simply geography, but way of life and this God-forsaken bullshit "us versus them" attitude that has prevailed over our culture for decades.

As Tom Friedman's article says, "I feel like we're voting for which team we're on." This is exactly how politics is viewed in America. It's basically the Superbowl. It has nothing to do with issues or policy or anything of importance. It's the good ole American spirit of backing a winner, and gloating over the losers misfortune. That's where all the energy came from to drive record numbers to the polls. And that's pretty much why most of the world hates us, because we have the greatest gift on the planet, and we treat it like we're spoiled pre-teens.

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