Is the United States of America basically two countries?

Question

We're not talking about North and South here. We're talking about demographics. There seem to be two different types of people in America. The nation is essentially as divided as it was in 1861 when the Civil War began. You now have two different groups of people, each representing about 50 percent of the population:

1) The well-educated, culturally diverse, sophisticated city-dwellers who voted AGAINST Bush in the last election. ("blue staters")

2) The less-educated, rural-dwelling, culturally homogenous folks, who voted FOR Bush. The kind of people who like their guns, their SUVs, NASCAR, Wal-Marts, Dairy Queens and Waffle Houses ("red staters")

These two groups are basically at war with each other, each trying to put their man in the White House. Consider how bitter the elections of 2004 and 2000 were. You had the Bush/Cheney people almost fist-fighting with the Gore-Lieberman people in 2000, and the Kerry-Edwards people in 2004.

Answer 1

I like Kerry, Obama, AND Wal-Mart.

Though I believe anyone with a confederate flag displayed on their car should have their tires knifed.

There's a third group too- welfare hounds who don't care either way.  

Answer 2

I am an Australian and I view the USA just as you describe. I would like to see Obama win the next election and see if he can make a real difference in dealing with American and world issues.

Answer 3

Not two countries two social groups. Mind you not every "blue stater" is educated. Some people just follow blindly behind their friends. However it has been shown that places where people are Educated (Cities, etc.) almost always vote Democratic/Liberal

Answer 4

I don't think so. I mean, I'm loathe George Bush as much as the next guy, and quite honestly will never understand how ANYONE let him into office, but i also like Dairy Queen, Waffle House and hybrid SUVs. The gas guzzlers are too much though.

Really, I mean, I'm pretty split between the two kinds of people you described here, but maybe I'm just an outlier.

As for the core of the question, very rarely do you see a country truly divided like you're implying. Usually it only happens when you have an Oligarchy opressing a different group of people (much like the Civil War or Darfur).

  

Answer 5

Or group 3. The people who think that anybody who disagrees with them MUST be a less educated redneck.

Go play in traffic champ.  

Answer 6

You represent the utter conceit of the of the elitest Left that believes only the people who live in the Boston-Washington corridor and in California are important. In their eyes, all the rest of us live in "fly over" states (states one has to fly over to get somewhere important).

Get a life.

Answer 7

As I suspected, most Yahoo users are red-staters...as evidenced by the hatred displayed in the answers. And that pretty much sums up the difference.

The U.S. has become divided by hate. Those who hate, those who do not. Tolerance of difference has dwindled, fueled by politics and right-wing TV journalism....FoxNews is a prime example.

Yet still we're supposedly dominated by the "liberal mass-media", interestingly enough no one is really able to identify a liberal mass-media source. PBS is not considered mass media by the way.

Americans it seems no longer turn to newspapers for information on the world, rather perceived misconceptions about what is good and what is bad.....or a 15 second clip from the TV news, and then formulate an "educated opinion". Sadly, to learn about what is truly happening in the world, and sometimes politically in the US, you have to watch the BBC to get the whole picture. Disney owns ABC, GE owns NBC, CBS is owned by Viacom, Fox by Rupert Murdoch and CNN by Ted Turner.

Each has a CEO, each CEO is a Republican. Liberal media? News that asks questions and looks for answers? Don't look here.

Patriotism now seems to have a definition of march to one drummer or else, which goes against everything our country once stood for. Our founding fathers must be turning over in their graves.

Answer 8

Well your bashing about every Bush person, saying their abunch of rednecks.

And saying that all non Bush people are Gods gift to the world.

And yes thats how polotics are. They don't want the other party to win.

Answer 9

i just dont think you can sum up people or a country so neatly.

and i definitely dont think the country is as divided as it was in 1861, thats just trying to get a rise out of people. but i dont live in a city, i live in the south, i hate nascar, love waffle house (scattered and smothered. please) and voted against bush both times. and voted against his dad too. so where does that put me?  do you have some neat little category for me as well?

Answer 10

if you read nothing else of my answere read this it is proof enough that it is not like this just by reading your answeres if it were like that person one would be like im red the second im blue.

now read the rest please! :)

no and personallly i feal you need to stop bashing the bush people and if you dont mean to well try to reword what you say

then to answere your question i think that no there are not two countries bc you cant exactly stereo type two sets of people bc well not everyone fits into a clear cut catagory for instance i know some against bush rual ford monstertruckn less educated people and i know TONS of  private school ivy school college people sophisticated city dwellers  that are FOR bush. people dont just fit perfectally into 2 groups except for phisical traits like male femal light hair dark hair. we are all diferent  and all  have diferent views it is part of being a free contry with ideas and views being floated around  constantly even within a family people have diferent views even between young siblings views are diferent even when youve been raised the same you are diferent.

Also even though we do have the dmocrats and the republicans not everyone in these groups are the same other wise we would only need one candidate on either side and would have no need for primarys or anything our president would be determined by the number of republicans against the number the number of democrats and it simply isnt like that

Answer 11

Actually the way you asked this question made me take offense. We can be divided politically and not actually have a shooting war. There is no way in h**l that we as a people are as divided as we are in 1861 or even 1776. You assume that everyone in group one will vote democrat, but I am here to say you need to get out more and stop reading "Whats the matter with Kansas?"

I am a proud member of the Republican party. I am a male hispanic who lives in NYC (born and raised) with a college education. I like my star bucks frap in the afternoons and listen to green day while i run with my ipod. I like guns, what male doesn't who watched GI Joe as a kid. I hate SUVs. I think NASCAR is dumb. Wal-mart is killing American businesses. Dairy Queen rocks, their sundaes are the BEST. Waffle Houses, only if theres nothing else to eat. I voted for Bush in 2004 and I have yet to vote Democrat. I voted Independent a few times and once tossed a sympathy vote to a no chance socialist congressman canidate. Which group do I fit in? Am I a hillbilly? I cant seem to tell.

Look I think Democrats and Liberals are as patriotic as me and although I think their policies are misguilded. I respect the rational they have for supporting their policies. I will NEVER take up arms against my fellow Americans and I know of no one else that would. Sure there are extremists on both sides and they are the ones that do dumb stuff like assualt people with differing opinions, but that is the minority of people. America has a long tradition of democracy and freedom of speech/assembly/media/etc. which includes freedom of opinion. I really suggust you open your mind and not try to classify Republicans as white, paranoid, poor, rural, racist and dumb. Thats how it came off to me.

Answer 12

Is that you John Edwards?