Sense & Nonsense Featured Link

U.S. National Debt Clock

Up to the minute statistics you can use

Most Americans will probably agree that the nation is divided. If they will talk about it at all, they will point to politics, religion, race, economic status, gender, sexual preferences, health, age or a thousand other "issues". Most confine their discussions to trivial things like sports, today's weather, entertainment or simple "small talk". To discuss important things leads to Verbal Combat over one thing or another.

The 2012 Presidential Election Returns offer some clues about exactly what the real divide in America is. The first map in that article gives the impression that America is overwhelmingly Republican. It isn't. Facts show Republicans were soundly defeated in 2012. The second map gives a clue as to how that could be. Counties carried by Republicans were won by small margins whereas counties carried by Democrats were won by large margins. The third map reveals  a larger truth: The counties carried by Democrats have huge population compared to those carried by Republicans.

The major divide in America is between those who live in large cities and those who don't. Whoever wins the cities wins the election simply because that is where the votes, money and power resides. Politically, the rest of America can safely be ignored and exploited. The USA is now a truly urban nation with 200 years of rural tradition that is impossible to ignore.

With those facts in mind, how is America going to adapt and be united as a nation? The ignored, exploited half is not just going to just disappear. Neither is the urban half. A peaceful solution requires recognizing still more facts.

Cities cannot exist without resources from rural America. Rural America can exist, but not prosper, without cities. A reasonable person might see some common ground there.

Cities have different problems from less densely populated areas. For example, a reliable car or truck is absolutely vital to live in rural America but is essentially an unnecessary expense in a large city with public transportation. City dwellers can dial 911 and get a response in minutes but not so in rural America. Low population areas simply cannot afford the equipment and standing manpower to deliver service in minutes that might be needed only once a week. A firearm that is a vital tool in rural America might be a weapon in the city.

The point is that one size does not fit all. Reasonable people could recognize that simple fact and take it into consideration.

For reasonable people to prevail will require refusing to participate in verbal combat and to consider Principles Before Personalities. Can that happen?

Sense and Nonsense Is dedicated to providing the information, ideas and interaction necessary to build a community of people who can be trusted and who trust each other.