I'm not suggesting we go to war or treat the opposite region with hostility, but I am recommending we agree to just be friends and terminate the unhealthy relationship.
This country was founded on the notion that we all would work together to constantly become a more perfect union. Instead, we have become polarized on nearly every issue and our government has stalled and no longer represents the will of the people. Corporations, from the right and the left, outspend the citizenry and pass legislation that only benefits their interest and does nothing to benefit the average constituent.
We have polling groups that consistently show us about 50% of the people see things one way and the other 50% see things the exact opposite. We no longer have any desire to compromise and craft laws that incorporate ideals from each camp in a way that advances the betterment of the union. We have, basically, two entirely different mindsets as to how the government should operate.
The above photo shows the amount of moderates in the Senate since 1982. Those in yellow were considered moderate and were willing to work with their counterparts across the aisle for the benefit of the country. Senator Richard Lugar, a Republican from Indiana lost a primary this week to Richard Mourdock. The Tea Party, an extreme right leaning wing of the Republican Party, was behind the defeat of Lugar. The Tea Party doesn't believe in compromise and has proven this time and time again, even so much so they were willing to have our country's credit rating taken down a notch. Mourdock assured the Tea Party is he was there man when he announced, after his primary defeat of Lugar, "I don't think there's going to be a lot of successful compromise. I hope to build a conservative majority in the U.S. Senate so bipartisanship becomes Democrats joining Republicans..."
In the past few years we have fought over health care, military endeavors, civil rights, infrastructure, NASA, Supreme Court Justices, gun rights, citizenship requirements, education, welfare, unemployment benefits, public broadcasting, science, news sources, and the list goes on and on. We are past the point of no return, we have jumped the shark. We no longer agree on facts.
Let's just part amicably and wish each other well. Let's agree to share the term America but call one North and the other South or blue and red or up and down or half empty or half full or Hellbound and Jesusland ... but I digress. Let's let people have their way and run their country the way they see fit. Let's stop fighting with one another and just live in the region that best encompasses one's view of the role of government. If you believe college football should have a playoff system, if you should hit the gas pedal when the light turns yellow, if Lucky Charms should only consist of hearts, moons, stars, and clovers, if Coke is better than Pepsi, if milk shouldn't be pasteurized, if vaccinations are criminal, if Twitter is better than Facebook, if pants should not dip below the belt line, if women who want the pill should be probed with a mesh of transvaginal bliss, if your higher power didn't create Adam and Steve, if the downtrodden should be executed, then you should be able to pick the America of your liking. The Dakota's and the Carolina's and the Virginia's seem to function without going to war.
We don't have to build a wall separating our regions, even though I suspect both groups would embrace the idea for entirely different reasons. We don't have to have a bitter split, the South can keep Graceland and Mardi Gras and the Creation Museum. They can even skip out on paying their debt if they want to. They can even elect only movie stars and celebrities and the North can agree to only elect community leaders. We can do this.
