Is America Two Countries?

[soulesailor]

For the most part I choose to stay out of the political discussions on sailnet, adding a lone post here or there. Now I have a question for all of you:

Is America Two Countries?

The left is way left of center and can't see any merit in conservative ideas.
The right is way right of center and can't see any merit in liberal ideas.

Two idealogues that can't get along unless they get their way. What's to happen if we can't find common ground?

[N0NJY]

No you're incorrect.

The problem with America is that The Left isn't left of Center, they are Socialists.

The Right has moved to the middle and are moderates. The few REAL Conservatives that are still around, like me appear to be anomalies because most of them won't open their mouths and speak their minds.

I don't have that problem. I've been involved with politics a long time in the background.

Now I am in the foreground and I don't plan on stepping back because some Leftist calls me a name.

Conservatives are NOT what the media makes them out to be, intolerant people - instead, we're the most tolerate. Don't believe that? Look around and actually try talking to a Conservative. You will find they don't see race and color, they will vote for women, they don't believe that should be used as "birth control" (and yet the Libs will boil that down to the words "Pro-Choice" or "not Pro-Choice").

This is a war of words, not a country divided. The division in America is in words only - and their definition. Libs don't have definitions that fit into books, and they change from day to day.

Conservatives want things written down. Black and White. There is no gray... and contrary to popular believe (Popular huh? That too, is not in the Constitution) there really ISN'T a "gray area" on things like abortion.

It's wrong to kill unborn children. They don't deserve it. If someone is going to make a WRONG decision and get pregnant in the first place perhaps the problem IS choice, they made the WRONG choice to begin with.

There is NO common ground with Leftists today. They push and push til they get their way, and scream and call people names when they do NOT.

Look at the violence lately against people who are McCain supporters. (No, I won't give you examples, LOOK IT UP YOURSELF. Do the legwork yourself instead of assuming crap and believing others. Don't believe ME either, LOOK IT UP)

[erps]

Two idealogues that can't get along unless they get their way. What's to happen if we can't find common ground?

We'll take it to court and then if we don't like the decision that our side got, we'll try and elect a president who will load the court one way or the other so as to get it correct next time. We'll all be griping about it the whole time too, but in the end we will still sit down at the Thanksgiving table with one another with no fear of all the sharp knives.

[danjarch]

There aren't two Americas, there are dozens. And this has been the standard since America was first explored. In the very begining there were differences between the original settlers. Some more interested in trapping and mining from temopary settlments other going after permenant settlments and farming. It continued with the establishment of the American government. Some for a monarchy, some for a republic, still other for an outright democracy.

Over the last couple hundred years we've vered from socailism, comunism, capitalism, and verious mixes in between. We call it the United States, but in fact there are 47 states, 3 common weaths, and 5 territories. All of whom have there own constitution and different forms of government. Case in point, in Florida each county is also the school district, judges are elected on a nonpartisan ballot and are subject to reconfirmation election every four years, but don't have a challenger unless they lose the reconfirmation. Texas on the other hand has hundreds of school districts formed by town, counties, and by joint partnership of towns. Judges in Texas are have to be relected every four years, and list there party affilation on the ballot. Again Florida has one legislative body and a govenor, Texas a two legilative bodies and govenor.

We've never been one country. We didn't all agree to go to war in Europe either in 1917 or again in 1941. We didn't all agree to inact prohibition or all agree to end prohibition. These days are no exception, and lets hope it stays that way. One of the greatest accoplishments of America has been creating and allowing 55 different states(countries) to couperate in economic, social, religeous, and government ideas with out having to resort to violence when we reach a disagreemnet.

This simply boils down to the fact that if your state government starts to be over taken by people you don't agree with, first and foremost is the ability to move to another state. Unlike most of the world, this isn't a big deal here. Same money, same language, same basic rights. Second, we protect a series of rights that can't be violated by the state no matter how many votes they get. So if you can't move you can still speakout. You still have to be tried and convicted by your peers, and most be presumed innocent untill you are convicted. Third, it lets you seek justice from an out of state man or company that has harmed you.

On a higher level it keeps Florida, Alabama, and Tennesee from forming an alliance and invading Georgia for trying to keep to much water as well as change her borders to get and keep more of the chatihochee river. It keeps Texas and Oklohoma from going to war for the same reason. Gives Conneticut and New York an alternitive means of deciding who has fishing rights in Long Island Sound.

So don't fall for the cries of unity, or how back in the day we were all of one mind. Never been, never will be. There are dozens of Americas and there will continue to be dozens. California can be as socailist as it wants as long as it doesn't expect me to pay for it. If Montana wants to have direct democracy and bare naked capitalism, well have at it. If either can, in say ten to twenty years show real improvements in they citizens lifes then maybe I'll move there or vote for the same changes here, but I don't have any reason to belive or even wish for a day when there is only one America.

[administrator]

personally - I think there's much more that unites us than divides us. Some candidates tend the thrive on pointing out our differences to make themselves look more attractive to us. I'm not much on fear mongering.

just my humble .02

ps: I'm proud to be an American regardless of who is in the White House.

[sailaway21]

You might be forgiven for thinking that there are two Americas. Certain groups and even political parties thrive on pointing out our differences, as if they really were that significant. There is far more that unites us than divides us. If it sometimes does not seem that way one should seek out an immigrant and ask them why they came here. You'll get an earful of things that you may take for granted but that immigrants thirst for having been denied such at home.

And it's not the divisiveness that is the problem, we've always had that, and it's an integral part of our working out our differences and planning what we as a nation wish to do. If there is a problem, it is that there is a lack of education within the country that prevents common discourse based upon a knowledge of history, democracy, the law, and the constitutional underpinning that make up our nation. Our grandparents sounded like constitutional scholars compared to the average citizen today. Like all democracies, we've grown fat and complacent. With little material strife in our lives we easily forget how democracy must be nurtured by each generation anew. But then, I guess that is most of life, the same lessons over and over again.