While the vitriolic Red States v Blue States meme carried over from the last two elections was often darkly amusing, there does seem to be a genuine attempt to reduce the rancor on both sides this time. This link goes to a site that tries to do something a bit more mature with the differences between people, and also has the merit of pointing out that the popular vote was still pretty narrow. I pinched one of their graphics (trust me to find a cake-baking one, heh) to illustrate this post, but there are plenty of good ‘uns, from all sides.
The United States remains politically divided, and closely divided too. This suggests they (and we) are probably stuck with it, and have to work with it rather than trying to pour vitriol on ‘the other side’. I found the site via this post at NRO, which although a notably conservative site is also doing its best to fulfill the role of ‘Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition’.
Unlike many people I’ve met, I think it’s very difficult to change an individual’s beliefs. If they’re sexist, or convinced that gays are a lower form of life, or reckon that anyone opposed to abortion is a nutzoid Jesus-freak, well, the rest of us are probably stuck with it. However, I do think it’s possible to change behaviour. You can believe all those things, or none of them, or any combination of them – and yet manage to be courteous, principled and reasonable.
UPDATE: And this cartoon sums up my view of what the Republican Party badly needs to do before it gets anywhere near the levers of power ever again:
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Some of this campaign was positively rancid, managing not only to fling the usual personal insults about, but also drag out some really ugly stuff people are generally careful to leave locked in the cupboard. And both sides were equally guilty, too.
Were they?
There were people supporting Obama who did and said some ugly things. Sandra Berhart’s rape riff comes to mind and the bros before hos thing also. But I don’t think the official Obama camp indulged in that sort of thing not to the extent that Palin’s people did.
The Clintons of course, in the primaries displayed their usual high standards.
Unlike many people I’ve met, I think it’s very difficult to change an individual’s beliefs.
Yeah.
I used to go to war with people who’re racist. I found that it just makes ‘em more so. Also studies show that people inherit their beliefs. If you’re raised to be racist there’s limits to what you can do about it. These days I simply reply that I don’t share their beliefs but I endeavour never to be hostile or judgemental about it.
Viz Comment #1 – It should be said that McCain endeavoured not to be ugly. Having been targetted that way by Bush and Rove he would’ve known what it was like. It’s a shame he didn’t win in 2000.
When you look at the Red v Blue dichotomy in the States it’s hard to understand how they can maintain a stable polity. It seems like to entrenchedly different countries. The conflict between (left-leaning) liberal humanism and Christian values that underpins this is at least partially irreconcillable. The coalition of the American right – the flag wavers, the old school liberals and the Bible bashers that was so coherant under Reagan must have begun to fray as well. That states like Virginia voted for Obama says something.
Reagrdless one’s views on the man it must be some kind of good to see some semblance of unity and and a crossing over of the entrenched party loyalty line. Obama’s main schpiel is that he wants to bridge the divide. I have my doubts that anyone could do this but I don;t doubt that the attempt should be made. After all how long can the States remain coherant without some kind of unifying principlebehind their nation?
I used to go to war with people who’re racist. I found that it just makes ‘em more so. Also studies show that people inheret their beliefs. If you’re raised to be racist there’s limits to what you can do about it. These days I simply reply that I don’t share their beliefs but I endeavour never to be hostile or judgemental about it.
Yes, various genetic studies tend to support the idea that some of our primary beliefs, beliefs were so often think are grounded in sound logic, are very much the product of our genetic inheritance. It is humbling to realise this. Such information should make us more humble but there is probably a gene for humility … .
Obama tried (with one slip) to be polite about Palin, too. But both campaigns had utterly toxic supporters, and the fact that some of them got so much traction (the rape riff was probably the lowest point of the whole campaign) was what was really appalling about it. The point about maintaining a stable polity is a good one – although they do have the idea that you should respect the office, even if you don’t like the office-holder. I noticed when looking at the 52:48 site that lefties saying ‘Bush is not my president’ seemed to rankle most of all. The red-staters are at pains to point out that, regardless of their vote, Obama is the Commander-in-Chief, and that’s the end of it.
I think any notions about America “Healing” itself are wishful thinking.
In my opinion, Obama’s win was more about Bush than it was about him, and if you traverse the Right Wing blogosphere, you see that most Right Wingers are wholly uninterested in a “Unified” America.
For those who believe Obama’s election was some kind of watershed moment, I’d like to point out that his policies are essentially the same as the Republicans.
He’s a Hawk when it comes to the Middle East, he’s tepid, at best, when it comes to the rights of gays/lesbians, he tries to straddle both sides of the fence when it comes to abortion, he plans on expanding the Faith Based Initiative, which violates our constitution, and he supports the continued enabling of Wall Street’s recklessness.
His “politeness” was a necessity. If a black man were to express any anger, he’d be dead in the water.
As for the red staters being upset over Bush, let me remind you, these are the same people who spent $30 million to impeach Clinton for getting a blow job.
Their “Outrage” is utterly disingenuous.
What you saw during the campaign was the Truth.
Everything else is merely fluff.
Fairlane – He’s a Hawk when it comes to the Middle East,
Everyone’s a Hawk when it comes to the Mid-East. You have a choice there. You can be a Hawk or a corpse.
..he’s tepid, at best, when it comes to the rights of gays/lesbians, he tries to straddle both sides of the fence when it comes to abortion
Thereby avoiding the usual liberal snags.
The plans on expanding the Faith Based Initiative, which violates our constitution, and he supports the continued enabling of Wall Street’s recklessness.
The first bit is bad. And its a problem in the States in general – agree?
The second is a sweeping statement, But how do you not? Wall St will be reckless. Apart from the regular stumbles it tends to be beneficial that way. At least for them.
I don’t really care about that stuff anyway. It;s not my business. I just hope that there’s something to his intentions to heal America’s damaged relationship with the World and the climate change thing. He does something halfway decent there, he’s fine by me.
Wasn’t the NRO the ones running the lines about Obama’s secret Kenyan birth? and that Ayers really wrote Obama’s book? I think they also quickly jumped on the story about the young white female McCain campaign worker who claimed she was raped for by an angry black man for having a McCain bumper sticker. A story even Michelle Malkin thought was fishy.
The birth certificate story started with Rush, AFAIK, although he did drop it after a while. Don’t know about the Ayers one, but it wouldn’t surprise me if that started there as well. Pretty toxic stuff. LGF (of the major righty blogs) did its best to debunk both rumours, but without success.
Adrien- I just want to see the Democrats be more forceful in their beliefs. We’ve endured eight years of them enabling Bush, and we’ve had enough.
Also, by being wishy washy, he ensures that these issues (Gay rights, Abortion) will never have any sort of resolution.
It’s the 21 st century, we’re going through a recession, we’re involved in two wars, and people are worried about gays, and lesbians?
The bailout has everyone upset. By the time they’re finished doling out the money, it’s going to cost the tax payers over a trillion dollars.
In a truly Capitalist country, those businesses would be allowed to sink. The bailout almost guarantees this will happen again.
The religion thing is hard to read. For some Republicans, the “I’m a Christian, and they’re not” shtick backfired, but then they had Palin on their ticket, and there’s talk of her running for Pres in 2012.
Personally, I think the Faith Based Initiative is an affront to the very idea of “America,” and it bothers me a great deal that my tax dollars are going to people like Pat Robertson (One of his organizations received over a million dollars).
I think just by getting elected Obama is already improving our standing in the world. Bush is, by far, the most despised politician of my lifetime.
Obama seems to take the global warming problem seriously, but then he says he wants to expand our drilling, and to invest in “Clean Coal,” which exists only in fairy tales.
I guess we’ll see.
I know I’ll be jumping for joy once the Chimperor is out of office.
Fairlane – It’s the 21 st century, we’re going through a recession, we’re involved in two wars, and people are worried about gays, and lesbians?
.
The flipside of this is that gay rights are nothing to worry about. As you say the Democrats have been outré for the last little while. So Obama’s going to avoid any kind of Culture War type conflict. Interestingly enough Clinton started out with such a conflict, and lost pretty much, yet his economic policies were pretty much a continuation of Reagan’s.
Your point about bailouts is apt. The earliest bail-out I can remember is British primer-minister Robert Walpole’s ‘sinking fund’ after the South Sea Bubble of 1720. What happened then is what happens still people get into a feeding frenzy and think they’re going to get rich without really knowing why.
Likewise the ‘moral hazard’ of bail-out inevitability is something various econocrats (including Alan Greenspan) are aware of and attempt to address. Bang up job so far.
Seeing as the alternative to bail-out is going down the plughole I’m not sure what you can do.
Obama’s main strategy appears to reorientate the Democrats as a centrist party not as a, what we call in Australia, latte lefty party of boutique special interests nor as a facsimile of a New Right concern like Blair or Clinton.
Given the bitter divide over values between such as Palin and ‘east coast liberals’, given also the enormous social changes that’ve happened in the States (and here) since 1960 – changes which are still the subject of conflict – I think toning down that kind of activism (likely to be rolled back anyway) is the smart lay.
Social change takes time and more importantly acceptance. I believe same-sex couple have just as much right marry as heterosexual couples and that the prohibition against this is a violation of their rights. However trying to enforce it upon people who are vehemently opposed to it won’t guarantee gays and lesbians their entitlements. It’ll start a backlash.
I used to think clean coal was a fairytale as well. But my mind is changing on the subject.
One the underlying harsh realities that underpin US foreign policy is the need for energy. Domestic drilling means less killing.
I’d like to see fossil fuel go the way of the Dodo but it won’t happen tomorrow. Thus far Obama’s the most informed politocrat I’ve encountered viz this issue. He might be completely full of shit. If he is he’ll be the most hated man in the world soon enough.
I know I’ll be jumping for joy once the Chimperor is out of office.
I think that’s safely the majority view globally speaking. I won;t be unhappy for sure.
I suspect neither will he.