Reply #12: Message from a Purple State

[marions ghost]

If you go to www.opednews.com --on the home page there is a "Map of Purple America." It gives the election breakdowns by county rather than state. You can see that the REAL America is just about allover *Purple* (in fact Calif and NY are mostly purple, not blue). This Red/Blue thing is a media construct which is divisive and we should not buy into it.

That having been said, I understand how you feel. There IS a big cultural divide, yes, but it is not between states...it is more between urban and rural areas. This gulf between progressives and conservatives exists to varying degrees everywhere in the US. (Q: Should New Mexico be forever doomed to "Red" when Kerry lost only by a few thousand votes there? Or should a state be "Red" because the election was especially full of "irregularities" and the blue voters didn't even have a chance)?

It would be nice to think there are "safe" havens when faced with a threat. But living in a perceived safe zone can also give you a false sense of security. I suggest we Blue Team keep focused on the fact that the threat is the ultra-conservative assault on our government. We need to pull together, no matter where we are in this country. Those of us Blues who have worked hard for Kerry in Red states need thanks, not f...yous. Today it's more complex than in old Civil War days--the South is not your enemy. Draw lines in the sand, yes--but not following obsolete or distorted maps.