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The idea that the United States is conceptually a single country is our single greatest flaw. We’d all be so much better off if we just admitted strong consensu

The idea that the United States is conceptually a single country is our single greatest flaw. We’d all be so much better off if we just admitted strong consensus is vanishingly unlikely between every state and territory. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. People can disagree and chip in on a military to defend their shared interests, like staying alive, together. I don’t think the EU and the US are very different. Then again, Texas isn’t exiting. (No disrespect, just pointing out the difference.) But divisions in the EU are very familiar to Americans and understandable for the exact same reason. Asking a Californian to understand and relate to the issues of a Missourian deeply, and vice versa, is a little unfair to both and we’d all be so much happier if we were simply fine with that. People are different. The idea of the United States has been forcing it in a lot of unwilling minds for a long time, I think, and the consequential bitterness that really has no reason whatsoever to exist is unfortunate.

engineeringwoke 4y ago
No offence, everyone is the same in the United States. You talk of left and right but you're both playing the same ball game. I'm from the American South and I lived in Europe for four years with the rest in the Northeast US, so I do actually know. Just because people pick the different color team doesn't make them different than you. The same unstable people in New York go hard left and the same unstable people in Mississippi go hard right... and the issues just don't matter. Identity politics are some random anti-boomer gotcha thing. Abortion isn't even a subject unless you're Roman Catholic because it's never mentioned in the New Testament... and uh, abortion is legal in Italy by the way. It's the lowest brow, dumbest nonsense you could ever imagine when you come back from living in the real world. Ever heard of a different language? What about a dialect? How many dialects are there in, say, the Netherlands? Hundreds are commonly spoken, and they are not mutually intelligible. Histories thousands of years old, deep cultural divisions, and we're "the same"? Lol, read a textbook. Hop on a plane, please. For the love of god
- Jcowell 4y ago
  While we surely have more similarities than The people of the Netherlands have differences, we also have enough differences to not qualify us as the same. I think what’s not really understood is that picking democrats or republicans is not an end sum game. A sizable people probably don’t even know or care of either parties full platform. For some, certain beliefs that a party posses are enough for people to align with them and some of these beliefs are fundamental to who they are. Can a person from Kentucky and New York share beliefs ? Of course. Are we the same ? Women and LGBTQ+ people might disagree.
  - engineeringwoke 4y ago
    > Can a person from Kentucky and New York share beliefs ? Of course. What I'm trying to say is that extremism boils down to the same flawed mental processes, whether you are left leaning or right leaning. Once your first culture is "broken" by being immersed in another one for long enough, you realize that it is all a matter of circumstance. > Are we the same ? Women and LGBTQ+ people might disagree. If you lived in the South, you might understand that women are the biggest enforcers of the status quo. You imply in a very simple way that it's not in their best interest, but it is, really. If you are from a wealthy family, being a white woman in the American South is great. You have all the control in the world. It's not hard power, only soft power. But who cares? Your husband with all the hard power is wrapped around your finger... who cares about the recognition? It's a small price to pay for real control. You are also never expected to work, maybe part-time at a flower shop, or at charity fundraisers... you can even hire a nanny and still be a "stay-at-home mom". Who is saying this isn't a good deal?
    - ben_w 4y ago
      Most people, pretty much by definition, aren’t rich. What’s it like for the median person (split by gender or not as you like) in one place vs. the other?
      - engineeringwoke 4y ago
        The reality is that it doesn't matter. Most people don't hold the cards, the rich and influential do, even in the fairest countries. That effect is even more pronounced in the global South, the large majority of areas near the equator have higher entrenched income inequality than those farther away.
lupire 4y ago
Urban vs Rural is a far stronger effect than State 1 vs State 2.

engineeringwoke 4y ago

No offence, everyone is the same in the United States. You talk of left and right but you're both playing the same ball game. I'm from the American South and I lived in Europe for four years with the rest in the Northeast US, so I do actually know. Just because people pick the different color team doesn't make them different than you. The same unstable people in New York go hard left and the same unstable people in Mississippi go hard right... and the issues just don't matter. Identity politics are some random anti-boomer gotcha thing. Abortion isn't even a subject unless you're Roman Catholic because it's never mentioned in the New Testament... and uh, abortion is legal in Italy by the way. It's the lowest brow, dumbest nonsense you could ever imagine when you come back from living in the real world. Ever heard of a different language? What about a dialect? How many dialects are there in, say, the Netherlands? Hundreds are commonly spoken, and they are not mutually intelligible. Histories thousands of years old, deep cultural divisions, and we're "the same"? Lol, read a textbook. Hop on a plane, please. For the love of god

Jcowell 4y ago
While we surely have more similarities than The people of the Netherlands have differences, we also have enough differences to not qualify us as the same. I think what’s not really understood is that picking democrats or republicans is not an end sum game. A sizable people probably don’t even know or care of either parties full platform. For some, certain beliefs that a party posses are enough for people to align with them and some of these beliefs are fundamental to who they are. Can a person from Kentucky and New York share beliefs ? Of course. Are we the same ? Women and LGBTQ+ people might disagree.
- engineeringwoke 4y ago
  > Can a person from Kentucky and New York share beliefs ? Of course. What I'm trying to say is that extremism boils down to the same flawed mental processes, whether you are left leaning or right leaning. Once your first culture is "broken" by being immersed in another one for long enough, you realize that it is all a matter of circumstance. > Are we the same ? Women and LGBTQ+ people might disagree. If you lived in the South, you might understand that women are the biggest enforcers of the status quo. You imply in a very simple way that it's not in their best interest, but it is, really. If you are from a wealthy family, being a white woman in the American South is great. You have all the control in the world. It's not hard power, only soft power. But who cares? Your husband with all the hard power is wrapped around your finger... who cares about the recognition? It's a small price to pay for real control. You are also never expected to work, maybe part-time at a flower shop, or at charity fundraisers... you can even hire a nanny and still be a "stay-at-home mom". Who is saying this isn't a good deal?
  - ben_w 4y ago
    Most people, pretty much by definition, aren’t rich. What’s it like for the median person (split by gender or not as you like) in one place vs. the other?
    - engineeringwoke 4y ago
      The reality is that it doesn't matter. Most people don't hold the cards, the rich and influential do, even in the fairest countries. That effect is even more pronounced in the global South, the large majority of areas near the equator have higher entrenched income inequality than those farther away.

lupire 4y ago

Urban vs Rural is a far stronger effect than State 1 vs State 2.