I went and did a couple of Google searches to see what I could find on the Red/Blue America concept. Here's an article that gives a pretty even-handed overview of the issue from the point-of-view of a Blue American [The Atlantic].

The funny thing is that I know how to relate to both Red and Blue Americans. My dad grew up in a small southern Utah town but escaped to the Navy before I was born. So, I had the benefit of growing up on the California coast and attending high school in the D.C. suburbs yet spending my summers alternatively between my paternal grandparent's town in Utah and my maternal grandparent's place in Montana.

Spending summers in the country was great. We rode horses and motorcycles, shot guns, drove tractors, changed sprinklers, went to county fairs and rodeos, chased chickens, milked cows, fed baby sheep and pigs with bottles and then, when they got bigger, rounded them up to take them to the slaughter house. It was like adolescent paradise.

I took it for granted that every kid should and did these things in the summer. It wasn't until I was a little older that I realized that most metropolitan kids never did any of those things. The closest that most city kids get to country life is a petting zoo or the movies. It comes as little surprise, then, that the Blue Americans are suspicious of the Red. Of course, the opposite is also true.

Whenever my family members come to visit my in Seattle, they inevitably comment about the traffic and feel uncomfortable driving in the city. They are surprised and wide-eyed when they see the tall buildings, the homeless people and the Starbucks on every corner. I think city folk often ridicule the "country bumpkins" for being so sheltered, however I have witnessed the same discomfort when city people go to the country. Again, the discomfort and lack of knowledge of city life makes the Red Americans suspicious of the Blue.

I think one of the big factors is that city life and rural life require such very different social skills. In the city, you don't know the people you see on the street every day. You have to be skilled at meeting new people and your actions in public and private aren't known by the people you come into contact with. The diversity in the city requires tolerance and understanding of differences between people and cultures.

In contrast, small town life creates an entirely different dynamic. The people you see on the street every day have probably known you or your family for your entire life. Things you do in public and in private often times become public knowledge and gossip runs rampant. Usually, small towns are mono-cultural, so there are few dissenting points-of-view, religions, ethnicities, etc. The skills that one acquires to thrive in this environment are not necessarily the same as those needed in a city.

So, the differences are magnified because people tend to specialize and adapt to their circumstances. I think this, more than anything else, represents the biggest driving force polarizing rural and metropolitan priorities in life and in politics.

That's my stream of consciousness rant for the day... Enjoy! 11:05:36 AM    comment []  

I've been a science junkie since I was very young. I have always felt a certain amount of pride when I hear about scientific innovations coming from the U.S. I'm not sure why that is, either. I don't consider myself ultra-patriotic, but I can't help myself. I guess it was the Red Blood that I grew up with; my family is mostly very conservative. That said, for me it is sad to hear that the U.S. may be losing it's footing as the leader of world scientific innovation [ArsTechnica]. 10:23:06 AM    comment []