Red vs. Blue: The Divided States of America
The United States of America was a country that declared its separation from an oppressive monarchy because its founders believed there were TRUTHS that were self-evident; for example, that all men (and later women) were created equal, and that they had certain inalienable rights, including such hopeful things as Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
When this declaration was codified into a list of governing principles, it stated from the outset that its purpose was (1) to form a more perfect union, (2) to establish justice, (3) to insure domestic tranquility, (4) to provide for the common defense, (5) to promote the general welfare, and (6) to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.
These were noble ideals, spun out of the thinnest spidery filaments of hope, yet they flourished, however imperfectly, for 240 years. Until 2016.
But those United States no longer exist. The basic principles are fragmenting, especially the fundamental notion that there are truths, truths that are self-evident or otherwise. America is no longer a unified or coherent nation, no longer “one nation indivisible with liberty and justice for all,” but rather a land mass inhabited by millions of people who are bitterly divided by opposing world views.
Moreover, the differences between Red and Blue Country have made it virtually impossible to achieve that more perfect union, not to mention justice, domestic tranquility, or even the common welfare.
Red Country is owned by 3% of the population — wealthy white men who have secured power by working in well-paying corporations and professions that they were able to do because they lived in special neighborhoods that allowed them to go to the important schools that allowed them to enter the universities that would give them the certificates that allowed them to enter these money producing professions that allowed them to secure power. It’s like the “House that Jack Built,” if “Jack” means money.
Cash in hand, these privileged, mostly white, men purchase venal politicians, lesser life forms, who pay tribute by insuring that their owners can not only keep their money but churn it into greater profits, usually to the detriment of ordinary citizens who never made it to the better neighborhoods, schools, universities, and thus never entered the big money-making professions, and never secured much power.
Having purchased obedient errand boys and girls in the House and Senate, Red Country owners have ordered their errand people to pack the third branch of government, the Supreme Court, with carefully vetted images of themselves (Thank you, Federalist Society). These minions in black robes would know in advance that their mission was to protect their owners’ prerogatives and make their dreams come true. The owners knew their carefully vetted choices would do their bidding. Why? Because these men (and one woman) had sauntered through the same open doors of life that they had sauntered through. And it has paid off handsomely – most recently by defying decades of established law and overturning Roe vs Wade.
Oddly, though fewer citizens inhabit Red Country, its owners have amassed power disproportionate to their numbers and have successfully squeezed their political sponges to acquire an impressive arsenal of perquisites: lax or negligible oversight of insider trading, custom-tailored tax loopholes, minimal corporate restraints on air, land, and water polluters, little regulation on gun sales (even military style weapons), blatant gerrymandering partnered with aggressive limiting of voting places and hours (specifically designed to suppress voting by minorities), shameless coordination with a FOX TV — a pandering “state sponsored” media conglomerate eager to promote the Red Country agenda while routinely ridiculing as “takers” and “class warriors” those who call for fair wages, affordable health care, climate legislation, and gender and racial equality.
Red Country owners accomplish all this while gaslighting the ordinary Red Country citizen with wedge issues, enraging their base by staging human cock fights over religion, patriotism, abortion rights, LGQBT issues, critical race theory, cancel culture -- stoking passions that divide the middle and lower classes, creating conflict among those who should, in fact, be natural allies.
Red Country owners, perhaps to “own the Blues,” perversely deceived their supporters about the severity of COVID, discouraged them from distancing, getting vaccinated, and wearing masks. The result? They died and suffered in much higher numbers from COVID. They have also been deceived about the dire state of the planet. The fossil fuel industries and their stooges in government routinely minimize the dangers of climate change, suggesting that the recurring violent floods, fires, extreme temperatures, dying crops, rising sea levels, and eroding coastlines are ordinary occurrences in nature. Nothing to worry about. Sadly, Red Country citizens have been fed such a steady diet of bullshit from their chosen representatives, senators, and FOX news that they have no appetite for the truly vital issues that affect us all.
Domestic tranquility and self-evident truths, then, are near extinction. Hypocrisy is no longer a stain or embarrassment in Red Country. It is a commonly understood and accepted tactic. Truth itself has become a fool’s gambit. Lies work. The more the messier: outrageous lies, unconscionable lies, so many suffocating lies that the mind struggles for air. Perhaps the new Red Country “Preamble” should read: “We hold LIES to be politically expedient.”
Perhaps George Orwell was correct when he wrote: “The very concept of objective truth is fading out of the world. Lies will pass into history.”
And the perfect symbol of this lie-based Red Country is none other than the Lord of Misrule himself – the former twice-impeached president and current “MAGA kingmaker” — a man whose enablers privately call a “fool,” “a moron,” “a fucking moron,” “an idiot,” and “a five-year old,” but who cower in his presence and grossly flatter him in spite of their contempt for him. This despicable man, who also incited an insurrection to overthrow a free and fair election, would be president again.
America is now two countries. The 2016 and 2020 elections spotlighted deep national fissures that have existed since the Civil War. Is it possible they may never heal?
Most Blue Country citizens value the democratic republic codified in our foundational documents. Many wonder what might become of the United States if Red Country politicians and their owners successfully employ their infrastructure of lies to build an autocracy even more amenable and answerable to the 3%, the “American oligarchs.”
Bill, what an uplifting piece. I had to stop reading and gather myself together before I could go on. My hope is that this latest "leak" will enrage women, leading them to the conclusion that voting for Democratic candidates is the only way back. I don't think this has been fully absorbed but when the get around to taking birth control, same sex marriage😵💫😵💫. And the idea that Alito would cite Sir Edward Cooke should certainly make women uncomfortable, or worse. Can't say I loved this but it should be read.
*Disgust.