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Presidents are elected by cultures, not by press or advertising or money or political ties. People still rule their own roost. The cultural differences are underlying the current animosities between the parties. A recent study of the Civil War brought this home to me in a different light.  We seem to be involved in constant skirmishes and tactical engagements these days, more than we are commonly aware of.

This study is fascinating as it struck home to me just as I was returning to the rural Midwest after a long sojourn (23+ years) living in metropolitan areas, mostly in Los Angeles - downtown Hollywood. The 2000 Presidential race was more illustrative of the nation's cultures and fixed ideas than it was about political whatevers.

Bush and Gore wound up with essentially the same party platforms.  Both had the same planks, the same issues.  They ran on their principal characters and virtues rather than any real ideological differences.  We might not see that same action again.  Both parties were centrist, both trying to run on a campaign to get the big bulk middle rather than the extremes of each end.

What we saw then, were two characters who were rich and had rich backers.  Both had gone to fancy colleges and gotten degrees from what were known as some of the best schools in the US.  Both had ample funds supporting them to do so. Both were seasoned politicians and knew how to get people to support them.

One was an intimate of a President involved in personal scandals. This person was known to stretch, if not fabricate the truth, much as his mentor did. 

The other candidate was a plain-spoken Texan, with deep-seated beliefs in God. This candidate was not polished in public speaking and wasn't a lawyer, but a CEO. His father had been president and failed in a re-election attempt.

But their following showed more about the US than anyone had thought possible.  A tightly contested race showed that there were far more differences within the US itself, which measured the character of the candidate more closely than the press or government ever would.

The USA Today newsmagazine came out with the original red/blue state and county maps of the US, which showed the supporters of the Blue party were not just a handful of disparate states, but actually just the metropolises of those states.  Red party counties showed that they controlled around 90 percent of the land mass of this country, being responsible for all the food supply and a great deal of the manufacturing in this country.  Blue parties had the principle media centers and governmental areas.

This is a far larger story than can be told in a short web-page/blog. The research is still ongoing to examine the whereby's and whatfor's of this But the consensus of all those who have reported on this issue points to a real cultural divide which exists in this country.  This won't reach the height of the insanities which preceded the Civil War. But it does speek tomes about the same arrogance and ignorance in the attitudes of extremists on both sides of our current cultural divide, just as there were then. We do not have "slavery" to act as a lightning rod as was the situation then. But there are strong undercurrents which are causing sweeping changes in the politics of this country, as well as the economy.

Confronted and dealt with, we can predict certain changes in this country and this world, all positive and survival-oriented.  Certain people won't confront these changes and this is one key factor which will affect the outcome.

As I finish this research, I'll report on it through these pages.  But the results have been surprising, nothing that the news media (read: blue-oriented) have reported.  That is a subject and study in itself. The long and short of it is that people are turning more red and not because of anything that people are talking about. Hint: try property ownership, something mundane and usual as home and land ownership. 

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As always, let me know what you think. There is certainly room for more research input along this line.

Robert C. Worstell.
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