Is the United States slowly becoming two countries?

[POed_Ex_Repub]

[Mattforclark]

1. Disagreeable... sorry

But seriously, there have always and will always be divisions of one sort or another. That is what politics is all about. Division!

[salinen]

2. Just as we became an investor nation

with average people becomming stock holders, we are becomming a political nation, everyone wears there politics on sleeves.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

3. Its all about the money... n/t

[papau]

4. other - because always rich and poor - but middle class is shrinking now

:-)

[arendt]

5. Yup. Southern corporatist fundies are reinventing the plantation economy

The whole world gets to be slaves in their factories.
But, the slaves get to be saved by Jeeesus in the
next world.

Its the Roman Empire/Catholic Church replay. Coming
soon to a corporate-owned space near you.

arendt

[cally]

6. The south seems to be a complete Repub lock

and the NE and the Pacific West is close to a Dem lock. We have to find a way to unify these two cultures. The animosity is real but our need for a unified country is also.

[Cat Atomic]

The rich *try* to divide it into conservative/liberal.

And it's worked for a fairly long time.

However, I think we're reaching the point where it's going to be undeniable that the division is actually rich vs. poor, and that all the social patty-cake that's been going on has been nothing but a way to divide and conquer the middle class.

[LincolnMcGrath]

15. Religion and wedge issues are what keep the masses

from killing the ruling class.


There is an old quote in there somewhere

[Dunedain]

17. Spot on!

[cyclezealot]

7. We need read Zinn's People History."

I would vote the US has always been a blend of liberal/conservative and Rich/poor. Reforms have always tried to make the U.S. more equalitarian. Success has only been within what is allowed at the time with reforms only what is allowed to keep the ruling class from pushing us into the sea.
One thinks the American Revolution was about equal rights for all need remember that it took over 100 years to get the vote for even all wealthy males.
Repression has been our way since the Shay/Bacon rebellion, to the Green Mountain boys,Alien & Sedition Act, John Brown's hanging, to Joe Hill, to Sacco and Vanzetti,Palmer Raids, Ludlow Massacre,Vetrans Massacre in DC over Pensions, Kent State, Patriot Act, and Ashcroft.
Some say American's have been through worse than Bush?
we have been two countries for a long time.. Is this why the vote is so under appreciated in the U.S.? Does not mean much. Organizations like the Skull and Crossbones rule, no matter what?
It is no longer a matter of rich/poor but rich and those in prison.

[DieboldMustDie]

8. It's certainly happening, though I don't think I'd have said "slowly."

The period from just after WW2 until the late 1960s was a time of rapid economic growth during which most of the increases in income went to people at the bottom of the income scale. Since then we have reversed course, the worst periods being during the Reagan administration, and now during the reign of George II. Right now the difference between rich and poor in America is the greatest its been since 1929, and we all know what happened then. :(

[Zan_of_Texas]

10. well, just for the sake of argument.....

One could divide us into two in a number of ways.

--Ultra wealthy half percent /// rest of us 99.5%

--Those paying attention /// those asleep

which is similar to

--Those who work to find out what's going on (read foreign news, listen to community radio, Amy Goodman, read DU, lots of websites) /// those who watch network tv or listen to their friends who watch network tv

--those who work out their beliefs on their own /// those who run their lives by hierachies like church or military

But, the English language is full of dualities, and encourages us to think in polarities like black/white and good/evil. Life is actually more complex than that, and we are all unique bundles of contradictions. So there.

[Semi_subversive]

9. Sure, why not?

Here in California we've got everything we need to be our own country. Fifth largest economy in the world. Mountains. Deserts. Valleys. Coastline. F*** everyone else (and we'll impeach Ahnold)

[loudnclear]

11. Please explain the word "slowly."

We are already two countries with two economies, two systems of justice, two systems of education, two systems of health care, two systems of taxes, and two systems patriotism.

[Bucky]

12. There ARE two Americas. Tyra Banks's and George Wendt's

There's Laura Flynn Boyle's America and then there's Michael Moore's America. There's Ashton Kutcher's and then there's Jack Black's. We're Drew Carey's America and they are part of Arnold Schwarzeneggar's America. There's a reason why Rush is getting skinnier. You're either Kathy Lee Gifford or you're Kathy Bates. It's time to choose sides America. It's time to sit on the beautiful people

[beanball]

13. A united America

has never existed,it has always been the rich VS the poor,that black/white thang.We are divided and unless we can unite we will not stand.(continue to exist).

[Comadreja]

14. We already were two, make that THREE, countries

The USA, The Confederacy, and the Republic of Texas. The more I consider the poisonous policies of the RW, the more it resembles the Old South and the Jim Crow South. The roots go deeper than economics, IMO. They go back to the division between one nation under the Constituion (liberals, secularists, moderates) and one nation under God (the Puritans and Fundy modern counterparts).

[POed_Ex_Repub]

16. Absolutely shameless kick

A little something for the night crowd to ponder

[MissMarple]

18. It's a little dance we do. But we do seem to be losing our balance,

not to mention the rhythm. It has happened before, but I think we can pull out of it. The current Republican Party is mixing it up with both federalism and states rights. They think they can finesse things until they get what they want. We'll see.