The Miracle in Baltimore! Only could be done under President Biden. I do agree that I hear many people mostly right wing saying immigration is the issue however abortion and women’s autonomy is the bigger issue. Thanks Heather!
The Miracle in Baltimore! Only could be done under President Biden. I do agree that I hear many people mostly right wing saying immigration is the issue however abortion and women’s autonomy is the bigger issue. Thanks Heather!
i should have read comments before logging my own...i would have just piggybacked yours...i work with ports out here on the west coast on large projects and this really is incredible. You are so right...a miracle indeed!
Christopher Democracy vs. authoritarian government is the underlying stake in the 2024 presidential election. Women’s rights, justice, respect rather than revenge towards the Americans people—-there are many critical issues, but for me the overriding one is that the soul of America is at risk.
Keith, in the last 8 year or so I have wondered what IS truly the soul of America—is it any one thing? I thought I knew, or at least had an idea, but what has transpired in recent years has me questioning…I embrace the “vision” of America…that we haven’t managed to fulfill it yet, but we are trying….and yet recent years see it backsliding, to my consternation. I came across the Pell Center, part of the Salve Regina Univ, and their Nationhood Lab which posted this (I found it enlightening): https://nationhoodlab.org/a-balkanized-federation/. We humans have a lot to attend to, but fear we are falling well short of our responsibility.
I think US history and culture is a very mixed bag, but that's a blessing as well as a curse. I think a lot of wrongs were on their way to redress after the age of American "robber barons", even growing concern for environmental protection. Even Nixon supported it. Reagan dismissed our better angels as a joke, and proposed a new era of plutocracy. And somehow the aggregated public has been buying it for over four decades, with predictably negative results. Time to exit the highway to hell, once and for all.
Some nice turns of phrase here. Your fourth sentence has a nice allusion to Lincoln in the first clause and a clever twist on Lincoln in the second. "A new birth of freedom" becomes a "new era of plutocracy." Well done. And I loved your concluding line.
Not consciously, but Lincoln laid out the foundations of my political beliefs from the years I was I was in elementary school. I'm old enough to recall when Lincoln's birthday was a national holiday, and we (in public school) acknowledged it by a day of two of special attention to Lincoln. Washington's birthday mostly occasioned repeating mythology, but Lincoln provided some of the scarce material I remember from and resonated with from those days.
It's interesting to learn how much and how early Lincoln influenced you. Based on other clever and well-written stuff I've seen appear under your name, I thought your usage was intentional. We are of the same generation (like so many of us on this oasis of a substack). But my memory (or yours :-) ) may be off a little. I thought it was Washington's birthday (22 Feb) that was the national holiday and Lincoln's (9 Feb) was just an observance. At my parochial elementary school, Washington and Lincoln were honored just by the mythology. It was a good idea to put their birthdays together as Presidents' Day, but the individual distinctions were lost in so doing. Oh well, with apologies to Joni Mitchell, something's lost and something's gained, in living every day. Especially to our age. :-)
JL Please don’t give Nixon credit as an environmentalist. With a Democratic Congress and an overriding focus on foreign affairs strategy AND re-election, he acquiesced to Democratic environmental legislation and even claimed credit for Environmental Day.
According to his tapes, he said “I don’t give a s++t about the environment.”
Barbara, thank you for a very interesting comment and for the link you provided. It gives us another useful way to look at our history and our politics. I share your curiosity and concern about the nature of the "soul" of America. I do think there is such a thing, but it has been undergoing a transformation into a less attractive and engaging manifestation. What has driven that change is a loss of hope for a better future for ourselves and our descendants. For much of our history our citizens believed that if we worked hard, played by the rules, and raised our children properly we could guarantee such a future. Over the past half-century self-inflicted economic and political policies enhanced by technological developments have shown that outlook to be a mirage. We honestly thought that we had something of fundamental importance to offer the world. That outlook made it possible for our country to play a major part in the defeat of the Axis powers in WW2 and the leading role in the establishment of the postwar liberal world order. That's gone now, and we did it to ourselves. All we offer is entertainment. Many of us try to hold onto the vision of an America that lives up to the noble sentiments of our founding documents, one that might someday have something of importance to offer the world, but that gets harder to do as the world goes mad.
And another thing is the continued distraction of celebrity culture, as if those who can sing or throw a ball have so much more useful insight into our character or policies.
Maybe Taylor swift has a clue. I can't stand her insipid music, but sometimes the lyrics are spot on.
Jen, thanks for that useful addition to my rant. It made me think of something from my long-ago graduate studies. There's a 14th century Chinese historical novel (Shui Hu Zhuan, for those who might be interested) based on events of the 11th century Song Dynasty. The first chapter of Pearl Buck's translation, begins "Kao Chiu kicks a ball." Gao Qiu, one of Emperor Song Huizong's advisors, is one of the villains of the novel, but he was a real person. He apparently attracted the Emperor's attention due to his proficiency in ball kicking. :-)
Re Taylor Swift, I'm not into pop music at all, but as a cultural phenomenon she seems to have her head screwed on properly, taking full advantage of her abilities without pretending to be anything more.
This was excellent Barbara. Almost as though ancestry.com was able to analyze the genetic makeup of the body politic. Very illuminating. Thank you so much for sharing.
Fascinating link, thanks. I took a trip to Montreal this month and did a history walking tour where a local historian explained how rural Canadians clung to their culture and language resulting in this bastion of French speaking in an otherwise English speaking country. I'm not sure how this article explains the cultural differences I see in Minnesota from it's surrounding states of Wisconsin, Iowa and the Dakotas. Seems somehow linked to the Scandinavian settlement in this area. It seems like the internet and widely available information should promote assimilation and homogeneity like US brands and Japanese manga leaking world wide, but instead it seems to be used to inflame feelings about our differences.
I do believe Barbara ( and thanks for the point) that was the plan, slow sedition. The Republican plot , the perfect pon came filling the part to replete history to foil The Great America . The ballot box is the final hour folks …was it the lesson needed to wake the complacent? To reorganize and forge ahead as our forefather intended .
The tasks are daunting, and as any good lesson should be , we’re laid before us like gifts by a party intent to destroy the beauty forseen, fought for with their lives of my father and many of yours. I know , and 80 years later will still this by voting BLUE….
Some have always tried to redefine our soul, this seems to be the closest they have come in my lifetime. The threat is united like never before, from directions I never dreamed would even care. They are energized and evil. Don’t assume anything.
Barbara, THANK YOU for that link. I've lived my entire life in NH, within less than 5 miles of the house I grew up in, and the description of Yankeedom is spot-on. I've naively assumed the rest of the country had similar ideals to ours, but this analysis of regions clearly explains why that's not so. I''d also encourage readers to click on and read the follow-up pieces at the bottom.
Yes, Doug. Thanks you for recommending the additional articles, also worth reading. And thanks, Barbara, for passing this excellent reference on to us. It's so enlightening from a sociological/historical context as to who we are as citizens of the USA and when and whether we have ever been united.
Doug, yes, it’s excellent to read thru their entire site; way back when I discovered them I signed up for their newsletter, which comes only occasionally. One of these days I’m going to order the book American Nations which is mentioned on their site: https://colinwoodard.com/books/american-nations/
I read the book years ago and found it very representative of my experience growing up in the upper Midwest to New England. Now living in CA I find if I know what state someone’s ‘people’ came from I can predict quite a bit about them, and vice versa.
Nancy, being a 3rd generation Californian—my maternal grandmother was born in southern CA in 1898 (oh the stories she told!), I had no idea that different “American cultures” existed. Years ago a co-worker who had lived back east for a period of time told me in conversation that she could really tell the difference in behavior/belief/customs, etc from CA native born. I had no idea! You just made her point again all these decades later!
Fits well with what I'm finding out about one of my wife's earliest relatives, Captain Henry Fleete who had sailed on Robert Rich's ship Warwick (Rich was the 2nd Earl of Warwick) and seems might have brought the second group of slaves to Jamestown if it hadn't been sunk in Bermuda by a hurricane on 20 Oct 1619. (He later sailed aboard another of Lord Warwick's ships, the Tiger, migrating to Jamestown by 1621 before being captured by "...Yawaccomoo-o Indians on the Potomac River in 1623..."), see https://xpda.com/family/Fleete-Henry-ind00629.htm
"...Henry Fleete was born about 1600 in Chatham Court, Kent, to William Fleete, a barrister and his wife Deborah Scott Fleete. Living both in Kent and London he grew up amidst the excitement of colonization for William Fleete had become an adventurer in the Virginia Company of London during its reorganization under the Third Charter in 1612. Thus when in 1619 it was agreed to establish in Virginia a particular plantation of settlers from the county of Kent, young Henry Fleete made plans to join. The ships carrying this Kentish contingent arrived in Virginia in 1621 carrying among them both Henry Fleete and his second cousin Sir Francis Wyatt, the new governor.
Shortly after arrival Fleete met Henry Spellman, trader and interpreter, who had lived with the Indians for two years in his earliest days in Virginia. In 1623 Fleete went traveling with Spellman on a trading cruise up the Potomac when Spellman and twenty of his men were killed and Fleete was taken captive. Spending the next five years as a prisoner of the Patawomekes gave Fleete a knowledge of Indian languages and customs far exceeding that of almost any other colonist.
After gaining his freedom in 1627 he traveled back to England where he told his tales of Indian lands and possessions and attracted a merchant, William Cloberry, as a backer. For the next four years Fleete took Cloberry's ship, Paramour, on voyages as far north as New England exchanging corn for trade goods to use in trading with the Indians for furs. At the same time he patented his first land, 100 acres, on the Eastern Shore and established trading posts on land which later became Maryland. In 1631 after another trip to England and the acquisition of a new sponsoring merchant, he continued his trading voyages, now on the Warwick, while opening up the beaver trade on the upper Potomac.
The success of his trade with the Indians led him to close acceptance first by Governor Harvey of Virginia and then by Governor Calvert when Maryland was established in 1634. Fleete was in fact the one who recommended the site for St Mary's City and who took the lead in negotiations with the Indians for the land, a former Indian village, at that site. In return he received from the proprietor a patent for 4000 acres across the bay from St Mary's City..."
Family lore supported the idea that he was a good partner for Native Americans (after being held captive) along the idea that the Native Americans appreciated the English as protection from the Spanish they thought treated treated them much worse. Relations weren't all that smooth but grudgingly accepted most of the time back in those days. With the new to me information on Lord Warwick's ships Fleete sailed on (Warwick in particular), it seems it would be little different from another of his ships, the White Lion, which did get to Jamestown some months before the Warwick sank in a later hurricane than the one the White Lion could have been lost in.
Nothing negative showed up in family lore (rather to be expected), but I'm curious since I read somewhere other that they sold the 20 Angolans aboard the White Lion as "Indentured Servants" instead of as slaves for life. Perhaps unrealistic rationalization for some on how they were treated vs Native Americans.
The link you provided seems perfectly timed for me to find some more puzzle pieces.
Thanks for sharing this profile of America’s “diversity” based on geography and settlers. One thing that has held the nation together though is white supremacy. Everyone has been living with this in our “soul” for centuries.
Barbara Keating, I followed your link, but have only skimmed the article so far. It strikes me, too, as enlightening. I’ve lived in Minnesota my whole life and confess I’ve always thought that the states within the “Deep South” don’t qualify as being located within the community of civilized peoples. Fortunately, though, they are located pretty close to it and I live in hope that civilization will rub off on them eventually. Thanks for the article! I have a lot to learn from it.
Thank for that very interesting link. I have read American Nations (great read and goes further into the issues and outlooks that divide us) upon which this article is partly based. It all fits, and makes sense of the red state/blue state maps.
Barbara, you have touched off a benign, positive, explosion of thoughts in the minds of this enlightened community of HCR readers with the link you provided! Thanks for it!
Unfortunately, the Democracy vs Authoritarianism approach is risky. The word Democracy is not easily definable on a voter level and is easily appropriated by the opposing Party as theirs. You and I and many others know this is a battle for Democracy, but we need to pinpoint more concrete issues such as abortion.
Maybe you're right. Maybe democracy is not easily definable on a voter level. But if you're right, then I'm wrong, and so is Marian Anderson who said, "There is no particular thing that you can do alone. The 'I' in it is very small, after all. We are all here to have a kind of living of our own and to be recognized for what we are."
But the definition isn't complete without defining the alternative; authoritarianism. Donald Trump has said, in effect, "There is no particular thing that you can do without me. The 'I' in it is all. You are all here to give me power so I can get retribution on your perceived enemies. Just don't make me perceive you as my enemy, and how to do that is anybody's guess."
Barbara, but isn't the battle to defend and advance democracy a zero sum game? Or to put it more bluntly, if democracy fails, authoritarians win (and the rest of us lose.)
Anytime we engage in a conversation in the tone of a zero-sum game everyone loses. This is the kind of thinking Republicans are practicing in the Halls of Congress. Zero sum thinking can result in extremism and people gradually become what they are fighting against. Yes, this election is about Authoritarianism vs Democracy. But. I am not interested in wiping all Republicans out of Government. I am not interested in retribution for real nor perceived wrongs from the Republicans.
I am talking about a mindset here. I want Democracy to win the White House. I also want to still have an awful lot of political parties and ideas in our national discourse mix. I want to continue to have opposing views considered. I want the hatred of the other to stop. Can we co-exist peacefully in a zero-sum environment?
The Democrats will win the White House. Our challenge is to not lose our moral direction in the process.
One has property rights over human rights, the other has human rights at least as important as property rights.
I liked to look at it like the Vasa, a ship with masts way to high (or at least the center of balance) so much so that it capsized after sailing about the length of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Corrado Gini came up with the Gini Index on income , wealth, or consumption inequality, which I recall was once used to persuade people like Benito Mussolini that there limits to how much inequality could be tolerated by the people.
When the people at the bottom have enough for a decent quality of life and opportunity, they tolerate some pretty high levels of "inequality" as many of them dream of minimal limits on what they can achieve. When so many can't even achieve minimums of food and shelter, much less equal opportunities, the society becomes unstable.
Barbara Several days ago I commented with abut 10 specific concerns related to democracy vs. authoritarian. These are easy to contrast in simple , visceral terms. Indeed, I could imagine an qad in which some of Trump’s statements come popping out of a cuckoo clock. Love ther imagery CUCKOO CANDIDATE (FLATUENT FELON)
I appreciate your scholarship concerning the 10 specific concerns. The hard part of this is the average voter is on a 30 second sound bite mentality.
As to the imagery in all caps... I have made it a personal practice to not get involved in this kind of stuff. I don't name call or make up names. I refuse to let trump or any politician lead me to copy how they talk. We all know trump has negatively impacted our national discourse. There is a crudeness that is sad to me.
Barbara My suggestion is that the Biden campaign run a series of ads, reminiscent of the Lincoln Project, entitled CUCKOO COMMENTS. Since take various Trump comments individually, have a cuckoo clock present it, and then have a brief visceral riposte. Simple, substantive, and, over time, almost humorous. A 30 second sound bite with punch.
Well. I live in Kentucky. It's a ruby red State but there are blue pockets, so this leads me to imagine that there are blue pockets in the Deep South. I know from reading Robert Hubbell and Simon Rosenberg there are Democrats' groups in Florida who are very active. Bless their hearts. And they pulled a significant election victory recently. Can't recall exactly what it was though.
Keith, I'm so glad you used the word "soul." In all the mess that Trump has created, not once have I seen him rise to any level of showing real humanity. He's as soul-less as they come. And to me, showing compassion and recognizing our common humanity is what "soul" is all about. Making decisions based on what is good for all while acknowledging, honoring, and respecting differences is "soul." Reaching out a hand to help is "soul."
Nicely put, Pat. Death star is absolutely soulless. He has not one shred of human decency....nothing. No redeeming characteristics. I see him as a festering cancer on the body politic. Seeing all those Rs kissing his rear yesterday made me what to vomit. Standing ovations....please. About this time, we make a list of where to donate which, besides voting, is how we try to help. Yesterday there were lots of articles about Rs targeting the candidate for Oregon's 5th house district, now held by a R that the candidate has defeated twice. We will donate locally and also to national races where Ds have a chance. The Palmer Report (yes, I know, but his list is excellent) for those races where money will do the most good. I am sure others have lists as well.
I think we need to provide more specifics showing what an authoritarian govt. would actually mean for the average citizen. What I see as most likely aare an increase in pollution and environmental degradation, loss of not only abortion rights but probably contraception as well, higher barriers to voting, higher taxes and/or fees for the middle and working class, and very likely the end of Social Security and Medicare -- especially with Rick Scott (of 'sunset ' fame) now apparently running for R Leader in the Senate. People need to be hammered with the facts about what a Trump presidency would mean for them personally.
Agreed …so simple …even for the SCOTUS textualists ( which is a crock of “merde”) Separation of Church and State. Why does the GOP and SCOTUS not understand this?????
Immigration rules the fools in more places than people think. It’s just another way to practice racism with another name. Abortion doesn’t compute with many men, it’s just her problem, Unless it’s a power thing. Can the hit-and-run men be made to pay for 18-years. Anybody see that on the horizon?
"Racism with another name"! That's spot-on, Jeri. As I've said before (ad nauseum?), no one seems to be concerned with immigration from England, Germany, or Canada... they just want to keep "the other" out of the U.S.
Clear and uncomplicated is the level at which the cognitive underclass feels most comfortable. When confronted with complexity, there sets in a cognitive dissonance - a tension- and retreat is made to the clear and uncomplicated. Hard to break through.
Can we expect to see rolling back of child support law as well as others that primarily effect women? Hell yes, none of this is about fetal rights, protecting children, or morality, it's about dominance.
Women will be the ones underfoot, except maybe Ginni and Mrs. Alito. Yes I know plenty of female magats, but many are already under the feet of a man. Not all, so maybe that gender things is playing a part. Shhh, don’t tell the anti-trans nuts. Maybe too much snark?
Yes, the "Miracle in Baltimore" is an excellent example of Biden's demonstration of what people need government to do that they can't do by themselves. It is also a demonstration of Biden's ability to put capable people into important positions; in this case Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.
This reminds me that it's important to ask voters whether they could trust Trump to come to their aid in an emergency. We know how badly he managed Covud and how little he cares.
The Miracle in Baltimore! Only could be done under President Biden. I do agree that I hear many people mostly right wing saying immigration is the issue however abortion and women’s autonomy is the bigger issue. Thanks Heather!
i should have read comments before logging my own...i would have just piggybacked yours...i work with ports out here on the west coast on large projects and this really is incredible. You are so right...a miracle indeed!
No need to throw paper towels into the crowd...
He'd look funny if they threw them back at him.
I would, but with a crowbar attached
I take it you can throw straight.
No, but he's a barn-sized target
Oh Jeri, let me help you with that crowbar!
Many crowbars neeeded...
I wish they HAD thrown them back.
🤣👍
That is what the orange menace would have done and then complained that they weren't absorbent enough to drain the port so it could be cleared.
Christopher Democracy vs. authoritarian government is the underlying stake in the 2024 presidential election. Women’s rights, justice, respect rather than revenge towards the Americans people—-there are many critical issues, but for me the overriding one is that the soul of America is at risk.
Keith, in the last 8 year or so I have wondered what IS truly the soul of America—is it any one thing? I thought I knew, or at least had an idea, but what has transpired in recent years has me questioning…I embrace the “vision” of America…that we haven’t managed to fulfill it yet, but we are trying….and yet recent years see it backsliding, to my consternation. I came across the Pell Center, part of the Salve Regina Univ, and their Nationhood Lab which posted this (I found it enlightening): https://nationhoodlab.org/a-balkanized-federation/. We humans have a lot to attend to, but fear we are falling well short of our responsibility.
I think US history and culture is a very mixed bag, but that's a blessing as well as a curse. I think a lot of wrongs were on their way to redress after the age of American "robber barons", even growing concern for environmental protection. Even Nixon supported it. Reagan dismissed our better angels as a joke, and proposed a new era of plutocracy. And somehow the aggregated public has been buying it for over four decades, with predictably negative results. Time to exit the highway to hell, once and for all.
Some nice turns of phrase here. Your fourth sentence has a nice allusion to Lincoln in the first clause and a clever twist on Lincoln in the second. "A new birth of freedom" becomes a "new era of plutocracy." Well done. And I loved your concluding line.
Not consciously, but Lincoln laid out the foundations of my political beliefs from the years I was I was in elementary school. I'm old enough to recall when Lincoln's birthday was a national holiday, and we (in public school) acknowledged it by a day of two of special attention to Lincoln. Washington's birthday mostly occasioned repeating mythology, but Lincoln provided some of the scarce material I remember from and resonated with from those days.
It's interesting to learn how much and how early Lincoln influenced you. Based on other clever and well-written stuff I've seen appear under your name, I thought your usage was intentional. We are of the same generation (like so many of us on this oasis of a substack). But my memory (or yours :-) ) may be off a little. I thought it was Washington's birthday (22 Feb) that was the national holiday and Lincoln's (9 Feb) was just an observance. At my parochial elementary school, Washington and Lincoln were honored just by the mythology. It was a good idea to put their birthdays together as Presidents' Day, but the individual distinctions were lost in so doing. Oh well, with apologies to Joni Mitchell, something's lost and something's gained, in living every day. Especially to our age. :-)
JL Please don’t give Nixon credit as an environmentalist. With a Democratic Congress and an overriding focus on foreign affairs strategy AND re-election, he acquiesced to Democratic environmental legislation and even claimed credit for Environmental Day.
According to his tapes, he said “I don’t give a s++t about the environment.”
Barbara, thank you for a very interesting comment and for the link you provided. It gives us another useful way to look at our history and our politics. I share your curiosity and concern about the nature of the "soul" of America. I do think there is such a thing, but it has been undergoing a transformation into a less attractive and engaging manifestation. What has driven that change is a loss of hope for a better future for ourselves and our descendants. For much of our history our citizens believed that if we worked hard, played by the rules, and raised our children properly we could guarantee such a future. Over the past half-century self-inflicted economic and political policies enhanced by technological developments have shown that outlook to be a mirage. We honestly thought that we had something of fundamental importance to offer the world. That outlook made it possible for our country to play a major part in the defeat of the Axis powers in WW2 and the leading role in the establishment of the postwar liberal world order. That's gone now, and we did it to ourselves. All we offer is entertainment. Many of us try to hold onto the vision of an America that lives up to the noble sentiments of our founding documents, one that might someday have something of importance to offer the world, but that gets harder to do as the world goes mad.
And another thing is the continued distraction of celebrity culture, as if those who can sing or throw a ball have so much more useful insight into our character or policies.
Maybe Taylor swift has a clue. I can't stand her insipid music, but sometimes the lyrics are spot on.
Jen, thanks for that useful addition to my rant. It made me think of something from my long-ago graduate studies. There's a 14th century Chinese historical novel (Shui Hu Zhuan, for those who might be interested) based on events of the 11th century Song Dynasty. The first chapter of Pearl Buck's translation, begins "Kao Chiu kicks a ball." Gao Qiu, one of Emperor Song Huizong's advisors, is one of the villains of the novel, but he was a real person. He apparently attracted the Emperor's attention due to his proficiency in ball kicking. :-)
Re Taylor Swift, I'm not into pop music at all, but as a cultural phenomenon she seems to have her head screwed on properly, taking full advantage of her abilities without pretending to be anything more.
This was excellent Barbara. Almost as though ancestry.com was able to analyze the genetic makeup of the body politic. Very illuminating. Thank you so much for sharing.
Good analogy.
Fascinating link, thanks. I took a trip to Montreal this month and did a history walking tour where a local historian explained how rural Canadians clung to their culture and language resulting in this bastion of French speaking in an otherwise English speaking country. I'm not sure how this article explains the cultural differences I see in Minnesota from it's surrounding states of Wisconsin, Iowa and the Dakotas. Seems somehow linked to the Scandinavian settlement in this area. It seems like the internet and widely available information should promote assimilation and homogeneity like US brands and Japanese manga leaking world wide, but instead it seems to be used to inflame feelings about our differences.
I do believe Barbara ( and thanks for the point) that was the plan, slow sedition. The Republican plot , the perfect pon came filling the part to replete history to foil The Great America . The ballot box is the final hour folks …was it the lesson needed to wake the complacent? To reorganize and forge ahead as our forefather intended .
The tasks are daunting, and as any good lesson should be , we’re laid before us like gifts by a party intent to destroy the beauty forseen, fought for with their lives of my father and many of yours. I know , and 80 years later will still this by voting BLUE….
💙💙VOTE OUT ALL THOSE COMPLICIT💙💙
Some have always tried to redefine our soul, this seems to be the closest they have come in my lifetime. The threat is united like never before, from directions I never dreamed would even care. They are energized and evil. Don’t assume anything.
Barbara, THANK YOU for that link. I've lived my entire life in NH, within less than 5 miles of the house I grew up in, and the description of Yankeedom is spot-on. I've naively assumed the rest of the country had similar ideals to ours, but this analysis of regions clearly explains why that's not so. I''d also encourage readers to click on and read the follow-up pieces at the bottom.
As a lifetime resident of northern Minnesota, I confess to the same naïveté and the same sense of gratitude for the link.
Yes, Doug. Thanks you for recommending the additional articles, also worth reading. And thanks, Barbara, for passing this excellent reference on to us. It's so enlightening from a sociological/historical context as to who we are as citizens of the USA and when and whether we have ever been united.
Doug, yes, it’s excellent to read thru their entire site; way back when I discovered them I signed up for their newsletter, which comes only occasionally. One of these days I’m going to order the book American Nations which is mentioned on their site: https://colinwoodard.com/books/american-nations/
I read the book years ago and found it very representative of my experience growing up in the upper Midwest to New England. Now living in CA I find if I know what state someone’s ‘people’ came from I can predict quite a bit about them, and vice versa.
Interesting how that happens.
Nice to see it here.
Nancy, being a 3rd generation Californian—my maternal grandmother was born in southern CA in 1898 (oh the stories she told!), I had no idea that different “American cultures” existed. Years ago a co-worker who had lived back east for a period of time told me in conversation that she could really tell the difference in behavior/belief/customs, etc from CA native born. I had no idea! You just made her point again all these decades later!
I just found this book on Audible and it was included in my membership! I will be listening over the weekend. Thank you for this recommendation.
Thank you for sharing Nationhood Lab. Most enlightening and provides a good understanding of the history of our differences.
Seems our melting pot never got warmed up. I still have hope, as a lonely pea in the pot.
Fits well with what I'm finding out about one of my wife's earliest relatives, Captain Henry Fleete who had sailed on Robert Rich's ship Warwick (Rich was the 2nd Earl of Warwick) and seems might have brought the second group of slaves to Jamestown if it hadn't been sunk in Bermuda by a hurricane on 20 Oct 1619. (He later sailed aboard another of Lord Warwick's ships, the Tiger, migrating to Jamestown by 1621 before being captured by "...Yawaccomoo-o Indians on the Potomac River in 1623..."), see https://xpda.com/family/Fleete-Henry-ind00629.htm
"...Henry Fleete was born about 1600 in Chatham Court, Kent, to William Fleete, a barrister and his wife Deborah Scott Fleete. Living both in Kent and London he grew up amidst the excitement of colonization for William Fleete had become an adventurer in the Virginia Company of London during its reorganization under the Third Charter in 1612. Thus when in 1619 it was agreed to establish in Virginia a particular plantation of settlers from the county of Kent, young Henry Fleete made plans to join. The ships carrying this Kentish contingent arrived in Virginia in 1621 carrying among them both Henry Fleete and his second cousin Sir Francis Wyatt, the new governor.
Shortly after arrival Fleete met Henry Spellman, trader and interpreter, who had lived with the Indians for two years in his earliest days in Virginia. In 1623 Fleete went traveling with Spellman on a trading cruise up the Potomac when Spellman and twenty of his men were killed and Fleete was taken captive. Spending the next five years as a prisoner of the Patawomekes gave Fleete a knowledge of Indian languages and customs far exceeding that of almost any other colonist.
After gaining his freedom in 1627 he traveled back to England where he told his tales of Indian lands and possessions and attracted a merchant, William Cloberry, as a backer. For the next four years Fleete took Cloberry's ship, Paramour, on voyages as far north as New England exchanging corn for trade goods to use in trading with the Indians for furs. At the same time he patented his first land, 100 acres, on the Eastern Shore and established trading posts on land which later became Maryland. In 1631 after another trip to England and the acquisition of a new sponsoring merchant, he continued his trading voyages, now on the Warwick, while opening up the beaver trade on the upper Potomac.
The success of his trade with the Indians led him to close acceptance first by Governor Harvey of Virginia and then by Governor Calvert when Maryland was established in 1634. Fleete was in fact the one who recommended the site for St Mary's City and who took the lead in negotiations with the Indians for the land, a former Indian village, at that site. In return he received from the proprietor a patent for 4000 acres across the bay from St Mary's City..."
Family lore supported the idea that he was a good partner for Native Americans (after being held captive) along the idea that the Native Americans appreciated the English as protection from the Spanish they thought treated treated them much worse. Relations weren't all that smooth but grudgingly accepted most of the time back in those days. With the new to me information on Lord Warwick's ships Fleete sailed on (Warwick in particular), it seems it would be little different from another of his ships, the White Lion, which did get to Jamestown some months before the Warwick sank in a later hurricane than the one the White Lion could have been lost in.
Nothing negative showed up in family lore (rather to be expected), but I'm curious since I read somewhere other that they sold the 20 Angolans aboard the White Lion as "Indentured Servants" instead of as slaves for life. Perhaps unrealistic rationalization for some on how they were treated vs Native Americans.
The link you provided seems perfectly timed for me to find some more puzzle pieces.
My home town of Warwick, RI is named after the owner of Capt. Fleete's ship.
Wow, what a history…..and that it carried down to you is amazing!
Thanks for sharing this profile of America’s “diversity” based on geography and settlers. One thing that has held the nation together though is white supremacy. Everyone has been living with this in our “soul” for centuries.
I agree, Gina. Another great source for real history about white supremacy is Heather Cox Richardson's How the South won the Civil War.
Barbara Keating, I followed your link, but have only skimmed the article so far. It strikes me, too, as enlightening. I’ve lived in Minnesota my whole life and confess I’ve always thought that the states within the “Deep South” don’t qualify as being located within the community of civilized peoples. Fortunately, though, they are located pretty close to it and I live in hope that civilization will rub off on them eventually. Thanks for the article! I have a lot to learn from it.
WOWOWOW! Explains a LOT! Thank You, Barbara
Barbara Jon Meacham’s book THE SOUL OF AMERICa 2010 describes America’s soul well.
Thank for that very interesting link. I have read American Nations (great read and goes further into the issues and outlooks that divide us) upon which this article is partly based. It all fits, and makes sense of the red state/blue state maps.
Barbara, you have touched off a benign, positive, explosion of thoughts in the minds of this enlightened community of HCR readers with the link you provided! Thanks for it!
Unfortunately, the Democracy vs Authoritarianism approach is risky. The word Democracy is not easily definable on a voter level and is easily appropriated by the opposing Party as theirs. You and I and many others know this is a battle for Democracy, but we need to pinpoint more concrete issues such as abortion.
Maybe you're right. Maybe democracy is not easily definable on a voter level. But if you're right, then I'm wrong, and so is Marian Anderson who said, "There is no particular thing that you can do alone. The 'I' in it is very small, after all. We are all here to have a kind of living of our own and to be recognized for what we are."
But the definition isn't complete without defining the alternative; authoritarianism. Donald Trump has said, in effect, "There is no particular thing that you can do without me. The 'I' in it is all. You are all here to give me power so I can get retribution on your perceived enemies. Just don't make me perceive you as my enemy, and how to do that is anybody's guess."
"But if you're right, then I'm wrong," I don't play zero sum games. There are no rights or wrongs here; only folks tossing ideas around.
Take care.
Barbara, but isn't the battle to defend and advance democracy a zero sum game? Or to put it more bluntly, if democracy fails, authoritarians win (and the rest of us lose.)
Anytime we engage in a conversation in the tone of a zero-sum game everyone loses. This is the kind of thinking Republicans are practicing in the Halls of Congress. Zero sum thinking can result in extremism and people gradually become what they are fighting against. Yes, this election is about Authoritarianism vs Democracy. But. I am not interested in wiping all Republicans out of Government. I am not interested in retribution for real nor perceived wrongs from the Republicans.
I am talking about a mindset here. I want Democracy to win the White House. I also want to still have an awful lot of political parties and ideas in our national discourse mix. I want to continue to have opposing views considered. I want the hatred of the other to stop. Can we co-exist peacefully in a zero-sum environment?
The Democrats will win the White House. Our challenge is to not lose our moral direction in the process.
One has property rights over human rights, the other has human rights at least as important as property rights.
I liked to look at it like the Vasa, a ship with masts way to high (or at least the center of balance) so much so that it capsized after sailing about the length of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Corrado Gini came up with the Gini Index on income , wealth, or consumption inequality, which I recall was once used to persuade people like Benito Mussolini that there limits to how much inequality could be tolerated by the people.
When the people at the bottom have enough for a decent quality of life and opportunity, they tolerate some pretty high levels of "inequality" as many of them dream of minimal limits on what they can achieve. When so many can't even achieve minimums of food and shelter, much less equal opportunities, the society becomes unstable.
For some examples see https://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/gini-index.asp (we don't come out so good anymore).
Barbara Several days ago I commented with abut 10 specific concerns related to democracy vs. authoritarian. These are easy to contrast in simple , visceral terms. Indeed, I could imagine an qad in which some of Trump’s statements come popping out of a cuckoo clock. Love ther imagery CUCKOO CANDIDATE (FLATUENT FELON)
I appreciate your scholarship concerning the 10 specific concerns. The hard part of this is the average voter is on a 30 second sound bite mentality.
As to the imagery in all caps... I have made it a personal practice to not get involved in this kind of stuff. I don't name call or make up names. I refuse to let trump or any politician lead me to copy how they talk. We all know trump has negatively impacted our national discourse. There is a crudeness that is sad to me.
Barbara My suggestion is that the Biden campaign run a series of ads, reminiscent of the Lincoln Project, entitled CUCKOO COMMENTS. Since take various Trump comments individually, have a cuckoo clock present it, and then have a brief visceral riposte. Simple, substantive, and, over time, almost humorous. A 30 second sound bite with punch.
You know who would do this is The Lincoln Project. I imagine you are familiar with them. It's my impression they are open to suggestions.
Thanks for your cautionary note.
Are you teasing?
Definitely teasing, but maybe half-serious about thinking the Deep South is uncivilized. 🙂
Well. I live in Kentucky. It's a ruby red State but there are blue pockets, so this leads me to imagine that there are blue pockets in the Deep South. I know from reading Robert Hubbell and Simon Rosenberg there are Democrats' groups in Florida who are very active. Bless their hearts. And they pulled a significant election victory recently. Can't recall exactly what it was though.
Keith, I'm so glad you used the word "soul." In all the mess that Trump has created, not once have I seen him rise to any level of showing real humanity. He's as soul-less as they come. And to me, showing compassion and recognizing our common humanity is what "soul" is all about. Making decisions based on what is good for all while acknowledging, honoring, and respecting differences is "soul." Reaching out a hand to help is "soul."
Nicely put, Pat. Death star is absolutely soulless. He has not one shred of human decency....nothing. No redeeming characteristics. I see him as a festering cancer on the body politic. Seeing all those Rs kissing his rear yesterday made me what to vomit. Standing ovations....please. About this time, we make a list of where to donate which, besides voting, is how we try to help. Yesterday there were lots of articles about Rs targeting the candidate for Oregon's 5th house district, now held by a R that the candidate has defeated twice. We will donate locally and also to national races where Ds have a chance. The Palmer Report (yes, I know, but his list is excellent) for those races where money will do the most good. I am sure others have lists as well.
I think we need to provide more specifics showing what an authoritarian govt. would actually mean for the average citizen. What I see as most likely aare an increase in pollution and environmental degradation, loss of not only abortion rights but probably contraception as well, higher barriers to voting, higher taxes and/or fees for the middle and working class, and very likely the end of Social Security and Medicare -- especially with Rick Scott (of 'sunset ' fame) now apparently running for R Leader in the Senate. People need to be hammered with the facts about what a Trump presidency would mean for them personally.
Agreed …so simple …even for the SCOTUS textualists ( which is a crock of “merde”) Separation of Church and State. Why does the GOP and SCOTUS not understand this?????
Inclusion of church and state is the ticket to ride for Republican fascists. They know this perfectly.
Immigration rules the fools in more places than people think. It’s just another way to practice racism with another name. Abortion doesn’t compute with many men, it’s just her problem, Unless it’s a power thing. Can the hit-and-run men be made to pay for 18-years. Anybody see that on the horizon?
"Racism with another name"! That's spot-on, Jeri. As I've said before (ad nauseum?), no one seems to be concerned with immigration from England, Germany, or Canada... they just want to keep "the other" out of the U.S.
That’s looks clear and uncomplicated to me. The hate is so obvious despite the obfuscations
Clear and uncomplicated is the level at which the cognitive underclass feels most comfortable. When confronted with complexity, there sets in a cognitive dissonance - a tension- and retreat is made to the clear and uncomplicated. Hard to break through.
True, but some things are just basic humanity. For which the complications are just obfuscations.
Not while we live in a patriarchy with Christian Nationalists running the show!
Most assuredly, scapegoats are always needed
Can we expect to see rolling back of child support law as well as others that primarily effect women? Hell yes, none of this is about fetal rights, protecting children, or morality, it's about dominance.
Women will be the ones underfoot, except maybe Ginni and Mrs. Alito. Yes I know plenty of female magats, but many are already under the feet of a man. Not all, so maybe that gender things is playing a part. Shhh, don’t tell the anti-trans nuts. Maybe too much snark?
The whole-of-government reminds me of a term I read about President L.B. Johnson: creative federalism. https://encyclopedia.federalism.org/index.php?title=Creative_Federalism
Your link, too, is really useful and interesting. Thanks!
Yes, the "Miracle in Baltimore" is an excellent example of Biden's demonstration of what people need government to do that they can't do by themselves. It is also a demonstration of Biden's ability to put capable people into important positions; in this case Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.
This reminds me that it's important to ask voters whether they could trust Trump to come to their aid in an emergency. We know how badly he managed Covud and how little he cares.
I’ll second that 🙌 thanks Christopher🫶
I get busted in that manner almost every day. 😉🤭🤫