I am not sure I've seen our country divided up in four easy pieces on a map. If I have, it's been a long time ago. Ohio is almost Mid Atlantic and down here in southern Ohio, some of us talk like we are from the south. That would be me!
This map makes sense agriculturally. The states in the Midwest or green section farm pretty much alike in my travels. So do the three other regions.
Our people seem to be divided, too. I am not sure it's four pieces but two are easy to pick out, conservative and non-conservative. I won't call them Liberal but many are.
This piece talks about two kinds of people in the world, kind of one looking up and one looking down. I found it quite humorous.
Everyone we meet has a quip about our government today. Everyone I meet calls it dysfunctional or not functioning like it should or could or used to. It's nothing like when I was a kid, does every grandpa say that?
"Americans couldn't be more divided in their basic preferences for the role of the U.S. government, with roughly one-third favoring an active role for the federal government, one-third favoring a limited role, and one-third something in between. And that has generally been the case for the last few years.
At the same time, Americans seem to favor a less active role for the government than is currently the case, perhaps partly due to a desire for lower taxes but also partly due to perceptions that the current government tends to be more on the active side.
Thus, Americans at this time may be more likely to favor proposed solutions to the major problems facing the country -- including the economy and jobs -- that rely less on government intervention and more on the actions of private entities, including businesses and individuals."
I am the do it yourself category with limited government intervention. Which one are you?
Ed Winkle
I am divided on this, there are areas where the government should take a great(er) role, like health care, social security, pensions or education (which does not mean it has to be managed by them), but it seems there is also a lot of abuse and bureaucracy in some other areas. There certainly seems to be much more federal and maybe state government employees than there should be, and in this day an age, there should be no more paperwork, all filings should be electronic by now.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny, I was thinking yesterday that all these gross caricatures of Obama (and I don't even like the guy) on NAT that seem to attract racist slur must have an effect on the mind of those who read only this kind of highly biased garbage if that's all the political views they are exposed to day after day, and Bang! here comes this article today: http://arstechnica.com/science/2013/10/are-partisan-news-sources-polarizing-americans/
P.S. I also believe that lots of regulations should be unified at federal level, like sales tax, driving licenses, etc. It does not make sense anymore to have such different regulations in different states, even if I understand that's how the country was founded.
ReplyDeleteChimel, but some of us really want to see the government do less in the area's like healthcare and education and feel that the gubment has really done poorly in those areas. I think the government should handle the larger issues, treaties, some trade issues, national defense, interstate commerce, those sorts of things. I'm not opposed to the Government being a last resort to help people or to make standardized regulations but there are problems. For example, I think the national farm programs could be wonderful, the NRCS can be a wonderful asset for farmers interested in conservation, but it also can be an oppressive agency when things start going wrong.
ReplyDeleteMany people think the government shutdown showed how intrusive and irrelevant much of government has become. I am one of those. And yes I do get payments from the Feds but I'd just as soon not.
As for the hate towards Obama.
I is not that complex. Humans pick a obvious difference to focus their anger or annoyance. Like when you get a cartoon picture drawn by a street artist. They make your ears bigger and your nose bigger or whatever. People talk about Obama's race not because they hate black people but because they want to express their view of him in the most offensive way possible. I can see the pattern but I'm not sure I'm smart enough to explain it. I mean it is racist but it is also not.
People use offensive racial terms about the president in the same way you use swear words when you are angry. Plus, it really annoys the people with Obama bumper stickers and it makes them feel smug at the same time and for some reason that is fun.
I really only need safe roads and bridges, love the National Parks and Defense. Everything else I feel I am paying for waste. Job creation and economic opportunity from science and other advancements are important to me. Crop insurance is a good safety net I use but everything else not so much. Over half of government I don't need. Our government is vastly too large and out of touch with the people.
ReplyDeleteGreat comments, I enjoyed reading them.
Ed
I agree 199% with you Ed.
DeleteI'm not sure it divides up that simply. For one thing the major division seems to be a rural vs urban thing instead of a regional divide like in the 1860's. I can't speak for the rest of the country, but where I live in western Oregon the culture divide is between the dry side and the wet side of Oregon. There would need to be another region for the west coast with the line down the Cascade Mountains separating western Washington and Oregon from the east side. I know I don't want to live in a nation governed by Salem, Olympia, or Sacramento.
ReplyDeleteFor a classic I've herd "rainbow stew" 3-4 times on the radio this week...,
ReplyDeleteOne dj said a song way before its time...
"Eatin' rainbow stew in a silver spoon,
Underneath that sky of blue.
We'll all be drinkin' that free bubble-up,
Eatin' some rainbow stew.
Is it rainbow stew Brad? Really? Rollan you bring out some very good points. If Dru Gilliland agrees with Ed Winkle on something, you better listen! Seriously, it's a very important topic that led right into Sunday's blog. Read it and tell me what you really think.
ReplyDeleteI really do believe we all need this discussion, maybe I am wrong.
I am older but I am not grumpy today. I just really want our great country to stay great and achieve more of its potential.
Is it every going to be rainbow stew? I don't know but I am trying my best and I think you are too.
Ed Winkle
Budde, I know the government has done very poorly in some of these issues, but it does not mean it has to be so, just that the government needs reform. I just read an article about how several health insurers are going out of state exchanges they use to cover, or are even covering only the most profitable counties in a state (I didn't even know they could cover only part of the state), which means there is a huge disparity, some states even have only one health insurer registered. More federal involvement could mean that all counties in all states are covered with a minimum of choices to ensure competitiveness and low prices.
ReplyDeleteCompanies like Amazon don't want to pay sale taxes because each state has different laws, even some counties and cities have their own sale taxes, and there are literally thousands of exceptions and special cases to these laws. For instance, in one of the East Coast state, luxury items have a certain tax, except for mink fur or something, because it happens to be a local industry there. Good luck automating this in software.
Some states like Texas try to change the standard school curriculum to include creationism, some states have gay marriage, some don't, some will have GMO labeling soon, others won't, this is the Disjointed States of America, not an Union.
Should it be a "Union" or a group of independent states which banded together for protection and "collective bargaining," and to build roads?
DeleteSo we have the question that gave us a Civil War.
Some of us think that the differences between the states are essential to maintaining our country and the Disjointed Sates of America is how it should be.
Many people feel that the more powerful the central government becomes the less freedom you have.
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