The Partisan Divide on Issues

[Eric the Green]

Certain people, such as Amy Bell, tend to call me a troll for pointing out that rural white America is the source of our lack of progress these 40 years. The conclusion is inescapable that this is indeed the source. Our country is now divided between blue, moderate-to-liberal, mostly-coastal urban areas and the rural flyover country that is loyal to its rural white territories, its religion, race, conservative culture and right-wing politics. If you live in those red territories, you are expected to conform and vote Republican. They are now called red states and counties, where the people vote Republican in margins of 4 or 5 to one. Election returns prove this beyond any doubt at all. They are locked into their views. They are poorly educated, and have no access to information, or they ignore what access they may have. Their fortunes are falling, which makes them unhappy and resentful. In some states this has resulted in opioid drug overdoses and suicides. They blame black people, welfare, taxes and liberals for their plight, even though it's actually the people they vote for who are responsible for their plight, for the most part. They vote for Republicans because they say the "urban elites" (anyone more educated than they are and who live in blue states) don't like them and insult them. They have never heard of learning a lesson and changing behavior. They are unable to do so. They don't realize that the only reason people in blue states and cities may criticize them, is because they vote Republican. If they would change their votes, people like me would have no problem with them at all. Put the horse before the cart, rural white red-state people! It's not who you are, it's how you vote. Full stop!

And don't kid yourself. This is not political prejudice. VOTES MATTER. Democrats are better than Republicans, and that is not hard at all to be. Where there is no political will, the people perish. Republicans provide us with accelerating climate change. They allow the 1% to get all the breaks and keep wages low. They oppose infrastructure, social and health programs that could uplift the people based on their trickle-down economics ideology. They erode democracy and civil, worker and consumer rights. They enable extreme gun violence. Now their man is fomenting trouble all over the world and accelerating American decline with his refusal to participate in treaties and alliances.

There are many programs proposed by liberals these days to uplift the USA nation, make it more prosperous for more people and cure it of its ills. But it's clear that the reason for our ills and stagnation is not only the 1%. It is the 40%. The rural and small town and small city whites who vote 4-1 or 5-1 Republican are the reason for our ills, because they support and worship the 1% and their ideologies. The least-informed and most-prejudiced voters have a built-in advantage in our election system due to the structure of the senate and the electoral college. They must be changed in their behavior, or if possible outvoted by margins approaching at least 10%, or our country and our world will perish.

The program that is most needed is to beef up public education. Bernie's proposal to outlaw charter schools suddenly makes more sense to me, after reading this article above. It must go farther than that. I don't think we can make private or parochial schools illegal. But public education needs more support. And all schools whether public or private must be required as a condition of their certification or funding to teach hefty amounts of civics, history and social studies. Reports on PBS make it clear to me that most schools no longer teach these things. How can we have an informed citizenry, then, as Thomas Jefferson told us we must if we want a free republic? That doesn't mean the teachers need to teach liberal ideology, but white rural students and all students in the USA need to have a good background on which to base their view of the world. They must be taught to think critically and to be creative and work with others, and to respect others of all races and creeds. They must be taught that no one religion represents the USA. If that's liberal ideology, then so be it. To me it just represents the principles of the nation they are being given the right to vote in.

Also, a liberal president, government or national candidate needs to campaign aggressively in red states and counties, and do everything they can to promote genuine American principles and liberal values and the understanding of real facts in these forsaken places. Talk shows and "propaganda arms" need to be set up. Right now all they get is Shawn Hannity and Pat Robertson and folks like them screaming at them. Yes, we need liberals to use every means possible to promote and spread the liberal message and cure the red states and counties of their disease that is ruining America and the world! The red curtain needs to be breached, and red state people need to hear another message! There must be an anti-red crusade, just like the anti-red communist crusades and radio free Europe and such that helped the people there eventually rise up and throw out their tyranny. That is not about criticizing the people, just providing the facts and the world view of a free republic.