Why are we so divided?

2020-09-26T18:33:29-04:00

This Country is divided today worse than it ever has been in my lifetime. The last time it was divided like this the result was the Civil War.
Today’s divide is not wholly based upon race, it is more a locational and economic divide based upon the attitudes mainly of those that live in Urban centers vs those that live in the suburbs and rural areas. Look at the 2016 Presidential Election map by counties. That map will show that the divide is evident.

This map shows that the United States is mostly a nation that does not embrace the liberal Left. The Red shows counties carried by Trump. This map shows that the divide is not purely racial, it is mainly a divide of City vs Non-city dwellers.
What makes this divide? It is amazingly simple if you look at it, and it has to do with the attitudes of the people.
What is the main difference? Urbanites as a group rely upon Social Programs to a greater extent than those who live in rural areas. I live in a very rural area, and by and large, those in my area try to be more self-reliant, eschewing social programs. Rural Residents also tend to despise over regulation, many left Urban and Cities with the advent of Homeowners Associations and municipal rules about what you can and can not do on your own property. There is more a desire to live free and less willingness to live under a pile of annoying, mainly useless regulations. Rural Communities do not bus their children to schools miles and miles away from their homes, but generally use community schools. Rural residents also don’t have as many run-ins with the law, and police interactions are generally positive. Urban dwellers have a problem understand what “It is against the law” means.

Herein lies the big divide in the United States. Urban vs Rural. Rural people are more traditional and more self-sufficient. Urban areas tend to attract people that are mor reliant on the government for their daily survival. The divide is made wider by the fact that those that use the lions share of social programs normally take more off the table each month than they will ever put on the table in their lifetime, and rapidly, rural folks are getting really tired of paying the bill. What do you think?

Response by Maj John Bell made Sep 26 at 2020 6:36 PM

2020-09-26T18:36:43-04:00

Spot on.