The North/South Divide Continues

Confederate Colonel
VERBATIM POST
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I was reading the comments following a blog post at Front Porch Republic about possible future scenarios, when the past and the future seemed to merge. It seems that the North/South Divide is very much alive and well in the North.

In the comments, Valli Genevieve said:

I have to say, here in New England, there is conversation in my community, for the first time I can ever remember, along the lines of “When the South wanted to secede, we should have let them go. They have been nothing but a thorn in the side of the republic. The North would be better off without them = higher education levels, environmental responsibility, more rational healthcare system, etc.”

Let the south go their own crazy tea party way, they seem to value lower taxes against all “common goods”. It may be time for them to live with the consequences of their politics and reactionary world views. But, it may be too late. The virus has spread and we may be looking at a civil war based on progressive versus regressive beliefs – a far messier and destructive outcome.

I agree with Mr. Genevieve. North and South would both have been better off without the other – at least as far as being forced together under the same government. There is much that we have in common, and there would be mutually beneficial trade and treaties, but we are two very different cultures that will never become one.

So often, it is Southerners who are accused of crying “Never Forget”. What we really forget is that there are two sides of this, and Northerners are the other side of this issue. I do not point this out to criticize Northerners, but to remind folks that the same cultural differences that split us apart are still there, just below the surface. This comment very clearly illustrates the stark differences that still exist between the conservative Southern culture and the liberal Northern culture (or, as Mr. Genevieve likes to put it – progressive versus regressive).

The original post at Front Porch Republic is a brief but fascinating look into the possible future of America.