Reconsider your response. How much of it was influenced by your personal history and by living in a multicultural, largely urban region? Sarah Palin's acceptance speech last night offered a lively and determined defense of small-town conservative values, and the buzz in the media hints that she may have ignited a culture war between liberal, urban cosmopolitanism and conservative, rural conservatism. Given the positive reaction to her speech, can we continue to argue that her embrace of tradition, duty, and heroism represents only a minority of Americans?
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Have the culture wars returned?
If your email exercise responses are any indication, the overwhelming majority of you believe more Americans identify with Barack Obama's story of multiculturalism, compromise, and change than with John McCain's story of duty, heroism, and tradition. But I wonder how people who live in small towns across the United States, towns with populations that share the same race and religion, might have responded. Do you think they would agree with your opinion?
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I believe that the people who live in small towns across the US will indeed have a different opinion than I do. In all honesty, all of my opinion was influenced by my 20 years of living in a multicultural region. My response will stay the same, but my outlook on the majority of Americans favoring Obama will be different, thanks to Sarah Palin's speech. Since she received a positive reaction to her acceptance speech, she has opened up the door for the small-town conservative people, who's opinions were somewhat undermined. Now we are aware that much of the US are also small-town conservatives, and that the urban liberalists aren't the ones who's opinions matter most.
I, having grown up in a small town, believe that the majority of the younger population will vote democratic, while the older population in small town America will be more republican. It is unfair to judge small town America as one huge population, we may be less diverse than an urban population, but we (the younger generation) tend to be very liberal.
I believe that Sarah Palin's speech about tradition, duty, and heroism was very moving. But it still embraces the smaller majority of the population. If there is to be a culture war it is more likely that it will not be small towns vs. large towns, but the younger generation vs. the older.
I do think that the mid west and southern states are going to play a huge role in the election. Small town America has a huge conservative following and race will play a role in that. My father was in the airforce and I have lived on the east and west coast and the mid west so I do think that the reason I identify with Obama is that I have been exposed to different people all over the country. Her embrace of tradition, duty, and heroism was why the republican party picked her to run along side McCain. I dont think that people who identify with them are in the minority it is just the Americans have always been told that if you put your mind to it you can do anything and that is what Obama represents.
I didn't grow up in Fairfax, I grew up an hour south of here in a city called Fredericksburg. Which happens to be extremely different even though there is only an hour in between. Given it is a thriving place and has grown ten fold in the past 2 decades I have lived there, it is still a different lifestyle that is easy to see by anyone who pays attention. However, the family I grew up is complicated and everyone has different opinions and ideals. Which never bothered me because, I marched to the beat of my own dream anyway. With that being said, I don't feel as though where I live has a direct connection upon how I feel about either candidate. However, when it comes to sharing ideals with someone, both candidates have ideals that almost every person in this country can identify with. When people think of Obama they think of a man who has came from nothing and made something of himself. Hes someone who wants change and wont stop until he accomplishes and has plans for the future betterment of American. McCain however, knows that we need a change but focuses more of duty and honor to our country. Which honestly, a lot of people in the country identify with. Even those who believe in multiculturalism. They are the ones that came here to make something of themselves but when it all boils down to it, they must have some sense of duty to the country that they live in or came to in order to make their lives better and obtain more opportunities. If you ask me those are the ones who should be most committed because they are getting the most out of it. Anyways, yes I do feel as though where you are located geographically and what city according to size you live in does affect your vote because all of these are systematic. They are all intertwined and work together somehow someway. But as far as Sarah Paline's speech goes...Yes, she was electrifying. Sure...she got the Republican National Convention all fired up. But seriously, did you expect anything other then that? Did you really think McCain was going to pick some lady who was timid and shy so that she could be mocked and attacked by the Democrats, No. But her speech did tie together a very important thing, duty and honor amongst American citizens. She made it clear that their is a difference among those of us who live in metropolitan areas ans those of us who reside in rural areas. Speaking from a standpoint of being closely tied to both, I wouldn't say it has affected my decision heavily. However, my opinion is that you should be focusing more on ideals not about why you are the way you are or do what you do.
Lately, I'm not buying that all of the 20-somethings are all rooting for Obama. I have a lot of friends who are actually voting for McCain. Everyone seems to have their own opinion on who is going to make our country a better place (good luck!) and really, who am I to judge anyone on where their personal beliefs will lead their vote? I'm personally devastated by the pick of Sarah Palin as an addition to McCain's campaign. I think he set himself up for failure, which is fine by me, but she is a horrid human being not to mention a disgrace to women everywhere.
Tradition, duty and heroism are deeply rooted in the American Tradition, hence, TRADITION. You'll get no argument from me there. But I think a great part of the Tradition is to be progressive, and not to regress into a place where a mother will not speak to her own daughter about practicing safe sex and having a governmental position cut valuable education from her daughter's own classroom. I definitely do not trust a fellow woman who would take away my right to choose in a heartbeat for something that is barely a heartbeat. Tradition does not merely represent a minority of Americans, but all of us. Democrat or Republican we all have the right to uphold the ideas of progression and to resist the regression that is possible.
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