I don't know about you, but I was ready for the election to be over a month ago. Never have I seen so much anger and hatred displayed for the candidates. Now, if the pundits are right, there are those who are so upset they want to leave the USA or secede. Others are saying that democracy doesn't work!
Shoot! I knew that. In fact, that's why our founding fathers gave us a democratic Republic. Democracies usually in up with a tyranny of the majority. Those who agonized over the Constitution didn't want that to happen. Every they designed in that amazing document, from the Electoral College to the Checks and Balances, are there to mitigate the rule of the 51%.
Think about it for a moment. A look at the typical election map -- you know, the red and blue one -- does not tell you the whole story. Goof Ball Michael Moore would have you believe that the "blue states" would be better off in Canada. (I sometimes think he's right!) Yet when you examine the election map by county, you get a different picture altogether. With only a few exceptions, what made the blue states blue were the votes in the urban areas. Look at the map and you'll see that most of California is "red" with heavy blue sections in the bay area and Los Angeles. A look at New York reveals that most of the heavily blue counties were in and around New York City. The same is true in Illinois, Oregon, and other blue states. You will also see blue areas in "red states". New Mexico was blue around Santa Fe and Taos and perhaps Albuquerque. There are blue areas down the Mississippi and around many of our major cities. What the pundits, particularly the Democratic ones, don't get is the fact that the major differences are basically seen in those of traditional values. Americans living in small towns, as well as those in the South and Midwest, cling to traditional rural values of God and country.
Rural and urban values are often substantially different. Even if you cast aside the impact of religious faith, those values are different. They are not as different, in my view, as they once were but they are still different. Part of the reason for that difference rests in the fact that those living in smaller communities often sense greater accountability than those in the city. As it is often put in the church, "The best thing about living in a small town is that you know everybody. The worst thing about living in a small town is that you ... know everybody." People often do things in anonymity they would never think of doing where they are known.
Most of us from small town America are sick and tired of being treated like someone's idiot stepchild. Rural Americans are no longer the "hicks" they once were. Contemporary farming is a highly technological business these days and it takes a good education to make the necessary decisions to be successful in agribusiness. Improved communication, technology, and tavel make it possible for those in small town America to learn about and experience every aspect of American life -- rural and urban. Not only do those in the South and the Midwest understand life, they form their own opinions and draw not only from educations received at outstanding educational institutions (some with really great football programs -- :-) ) but also from a vast reservoir of good old fashioned common sense.
The wacky left is once again demonstrating the truth of the stereotypes attributed to them. (1) They think they are more intelligent than anyone else. (2) The truly intelligent would always agree with them. (3) Everyone else should be tolerant of their ideas, but they don't have to tolerate everyone else's "stupidity."
Well, for my money, Canada and France -- or wherever they choose to go -- can have them! Bon voyage ... and good riddance!
