Ok, I guess it's my turn
Nov. 5th, 2004 04:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
realexplodingcatBeware: I'm about to make gross generalizations about two groups of people. I know that issues are always more complex, but since our winner-take-all electoral system encourages gross generalizations (i.e., since I live in Virginia clearly I want Republican electors representing me, which is so not true), I think its fair to do it in order to simplify my argument.
I've been thinking about this election, as we all are, and I am no longer surprised at the results. The reasons for the results are probably complex, but there is one issue that has been nagging me. I believe these results are indicative of a culture war on American soil, perhaps one we don't even realize we're engaged in. But if you look at the map, it's obvious. The lines are clearly drawn. The Democrats get votes from urban/coastal areas. Republicans receive votes from everybody in between.
Democrats and left-leaning folks have been very surprised and angered by the reelection of Bush. We had ourselves convinced it was impossible, because it is all too easy for us to do that. For the most part, the urban/coastal regions run the media. They print our most well-known and nationally recognized newspapers. The write and produce the movies and TV shows we watch. They print a lot of the books and magazines we read. So, for most part, it is urban/coastal cultures and values that show up the media that bombards us every day. Also, geographically, our sight is limited. On one side, we see the ocean and beyond it the foreign countries affected by our foreign policies. To other side of us, we see our tall buildings and millions of other people bumping into each other in these buildings. A little beyond that, a mountain range. There is a lot in between us and the "heartland" of America. Consequently, it has been all too easy for us to exist without truly seeing the people in the "heartland."
I think part of what this election is telling us is that there just may be more of them than we realized. Further more, the Democratic party does not seem to know how to court these people and give them a clear message they can understand and relate to. In the absence of a clear application of Democratic values, the Republicans have been able to step in with a simple vision that panders to their gut feelings. The Republican party stands on a platform of God, Guns, and Gay Dudes (or rather an opposition to Gay Dudes). It's a simple message for simple people.
Now, when I say simple, I don't mean that in a bad way. I can't tell you how often I wish I had been born into a small town and raised with an outlook that is not so complex as the one I have now. I get this way on days when I am particularly stressed about the complexity of my life or having soul-searching moments trying to figure out my purpose in a world of limitless possibilities. Sometimes I wish I was a simple man putting in a hard day's work at the local paper-roll manufacturer plant or the cheese-enzyme plant, going home to have a few beers with the buddies or spend time with a family, and then calling it a day. All of my beloved Taoist and Buddhist principles point to a simple lifestyle without excessive ambition as an ideal state in which to live. It's a struggle to maintain inner-peace while fully engaged in chaotic and complex urban living. I do, however, believe the struggle is well worth the rewards: access to better education opportunities, greater variety in choices for goods & services, greater chances for personal growth. But I will be the first to admit it can also be a heavy burden to fully take advantage of this lifestyle. Many folks not born into it are not prepared to deal with it.
I think there is a certain amount of fear in the vast middle of this country. I think they may fear a vote for Democrats may be a vote for increasing the complexity of their lives. More than anything, people fear change and that which is different from themselves. I think we urban dwellers fear it a little less because we're constantly beset with the mix of different cultures and complex opportunities that enable and encourage us to change on a daily basis. Outside the cities, life is slower and more homogeneous. (That's not always a bad thing. Often, it leaves room for focus on the kind of good hard work that these people do to provide our great country with its infrastructure and the production of the raw materials for the variety of goods and services we have.) So, I think they fear laws that they perceive as a threat to their lifestyle. They don't want to encourage gay people or minorities, because worrying about respecting very different people is an urban problem. There just aren't that many different folks in middle-america. Left-wing cries for civil liberties are viewed as an attack on their own civil liberties. They want to retain the rights to maintain their simple homogeneous cultures as much as minorities want the rights maintain their own lifestyles. They're probably not looking beyond the terrorist attacks on America's coast to see how our foreign policy is affecting other countries, they are more concerned with building higher military walls to keep those kind of complex worldly affairs out of their minds (which is not surprising because they are rarely directly effected by international issues and have no need to think about them during their day-to-day routine).
I believe the fear goes both ways. Complex folks in the urban/coastal areas view country lifestyles as downright dangerous. We can't apply such code of conduct to our lives, because we live in areas too densely packed with too many different kinds of people.
Whether or not we agree with their values, we urban/coastal folks need to accept that those other people are not going to go away. Not only that, they make up a very large percentage of the voting population of this country. I am proud to be a urban well-educated free-thinking individual. We should all be proud of who and what we are. There's a lot of pride in the heartland, too. They do like themselves, as they should. I respect that.
So, getting back to what I said a long time ago in this post: the Democratic party does not seem to know how to court these people and give them a clear message they can understand and relate to. I think progressive folks really need to apply the same open-minded acceptance that we have for foreign cultures and minorities to the large culture that is inside the borders of our own country. In order for the Democrats (or whatever party you want to oppose Republicans) to start winning big elections, we're going to have to talk to these people and really try to find a common ground. Somehow we've got to dispel the distrust and misunderstandings that divide the two worlds. We need to understand them, before they can begin to understand our complexities. The Republican party is well aware of this divide and they do an excellent job exploiting it. If the Democrat party hopes to regain its strength, it needs to find a way to close this divide between the two sides of American culture and find some common ground on which to build a concise and clear message.
I like country people. The more time I spend with them, the more respect I have for their lifestyle. I don't think they are stupid or evil for voting Republican, because no other party is speaking clearly to them. However, I do not like the Republican party (particularly it's current radical right leaders). I do not believe that party has the best interests of country people in mind. I do believe the core of that party is made up of a bunch of selfish rich fat cats who win elections based not upon the merits of what they've done for the country, but rather through clever manipulation of people's hearts and exploitation of the Democrat party's lack of focus for a large percentage of the voters.
Now, I'm going to do the bad thing. I'm going to end this post without coming up with concrete ways of achieving this goal of mutual understanding and message building. I'd rather save that for another post, as this one is getting pretty long.
I've been thinking about this election, as we all are, and I am no longer surprised at the results. The reasons for the results are probably complex, but there is one issue that has been nagging me. I believe these results are indicative of a culture war on American soil, perhaps one we don't even realize we're engaged in. But if you look at the map, it's obvious. The lines are clearly drawn. The Democrats get votes from urban/coastal areas. Republicans receive votes from everybody in between.
Democrats and left-leaning folks have been very surprised and angered by the reelection of Bush. We had ourselves convinced it was impossible, because it is all too easy for us to do that. For the most part, the urban/coastal regions run the media. They print our most well-known and nationally recognized newspapers. The write and produce the movies and TV shows we watch. They print a lot of the books and magazines we read. So, for most part, it is urban/coastal cultures and values that show up the media that bombards us every day. Also, geographically, our sight is limited. On one side, we see the ocean and beyond it the foreign countries affected by our foreign policies. To other side of us, we see our tall buildings and millions of other people bumping into each other in these buildings. A little beyond that, a mountain range. There is a lot in between us and the "heartland" of America. Consequently, it has been all too easy for us to exist without truly seeing the people in the "heartland."
I think part of what this election is telling us is that there just may be more of them than we realized. Further more, the Democratic party does not seem to know how to court these people and give them a clear message they can understand and relate to. In the absence of a clear application of Democratic values, the Republicans have been able to step in with a simple vision that panders to their gut feelings. The Republican party stands on a platform of God, Guns, and Gay Dudes (or rather an opposition to Gay Dudes). It's a simple message for simple people.
Now, when I say simple, I don't mean that in a bad way. I can't tell you how often I wish I had been born into a small town and raised with an outlook that is not so complex as the one I have now. I get this way on days when I am particularly stressed about the complexity of my life or having soul-searching moments trying to figure out my purpose in a world of limitless possibilities. Sometimes I wish I was a simple man putting in a hard day's work at the local paper-roll manufacturer plant or the cheese-enzyme plant, going home to have a few beers with the buddies or spend time with a family, and then calling it a day. All of my beloved Taoist and Buddhist principles point to a simple lifestyle without excessive ambition as an ideal state in which to live. It's a struggle to maintain inner-peace while fully engaged in chaotic and complex urban living. I do, however, believe the struggle is well worth the rewards: access to better education opportunities, greater variety in choices for goods & services, greater chances for personal growth. But I will be the first to admit it can also be a heavy burden to fully take advantage of this lifestyle. Many folks not born into it are not prepared to deal with it.
I think there is a certain amount of fear in the vast middle of this country. I think they may fear a vote for Democrats may be a vote for increasing the complexity of their lives. More than anything, people fear change and that which is different from themselves. I think we urban dwellers fear it a little less because we're constantly beset with the mix of different cultures and complex opportunities that enable and encourage us to change on a daily basis. Outside the cities, life is slower and more homogeneous. (That's not always a bad thing. Often, it leaves room for focus on the kind of good hard work that these people do to provide our great country with its infrastructure and the production of the raw materials for the variety of goods and services we have.) So, I think they fear laws that they perceive as a threat to their lifestyle. They don't want to encourage gay people or minorities, because worrying about respecting very different people is an urban problem. There just aren't that many different folks in middle-america. Left-wing cries for civil liberties are viewed as an attack on their own civil liberties. They want to retain the rights to maintain their simple homogeneous cultures as much as minorities want the rights maintain their own lifestyles. They're probably not looking beyond the terrorist attacks on America's coast to see how our foreign policy is affecting other countries, they are more concerned with building higher military walls to keep those kind of complex worldly affairs out of their minds (which is not surprising because they are rarely directly effected by international issues and have no need to think about them during their day-to-day routine).
I believe the fear goes both ways. Complex folks in the urban/coastal areas view country lifestyles as downright dangerous. We can't apply such code of conduct to our lives, because we live in areas too densely packed with too many different kinds of people.
Whether or not we agree with their values, we urban/coastal folks need to accept that those other people are not going to go away. Not only that, they make up a very large percentage of the voting population of this country. I am proud to be a urban well-educated free-thinking individual. We should all be proud of who and what we are. There's a lot of pride in the heartland, too. They do like themselves, as they should. I respect that.
So, getting back to what I said a long time ago in this post: the Democratic party does not seem to know how to court these people and give them a clear message they can understand and relate to. I think progressive folks really need to apply the same open-minded acceptance that we have for foreign cultures and minorities to the large culture that is inside the borders of our own country. In order for the Democrats (or whatever party you want to oppose Republicans) to start winning big elections, we're going to have to talk to these people and really try to find a common ground. Somehow we've got to dispel the distrust and misunderstandings that divide the two worlds. We need to understand them, before they can begin to understand our complexities. The Republican party is well aware of this divide and they do an excellent job exploiting it. If the Democrat party hopes to regain its strength, it needs to find a way to close this divide between the two sides of American culture and find some common ground on which to build a concise and clear message.
I like country people. The more time I spend with them, the more respect I have for their lifestyle. I don't think they are stupid or evil for voting Republican, because no other party is speaking clearly to them. However, I do not like the Republican party (particularly it's current radical right leaders). I do not believe that party has the best interests of country people in mind. I do believe the core of that party is made up of a bunch of selfish rich fat cats who win elections based not upon the merits of what they've done for the country, but rather through clever manipulation of people's hearts and exploitation of the Democrat party's lack of focus for a large percentage of the voters.
Now, I'm going to do the bad thing. I'm going to end this post without coming up with concrete ways of achieving this goal of mutual understanding and message building. I'd rather save that for another post, as this one is getting pretty long.
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Re: This election proved how full of crap the media is.
Date: 2004-11-05 10:49 pm (UTC)Take a look at a public post I made earlier today, linking to an article suggesting that what Democrats really lack is a clear vision. Where do they want to take the country? What do they want?
Policies, yes: tons of them. Vision, not so much.