The American Nations
The 2020 Elections
The colors used on the American Nations map are not political.
There were only two candidates in the Presidential elections.
I think Georgia was a result of one of the nations that Woodward didn’t include.
(Here’s a brief article of the American Nations concept for those unfamiliar.)
I think it’s interesting to compare and see where the alliances are. Then start figuring out why. Colorado is a good example.
So this implies you think the election results accurately reflect the will of the people.
Does it?
This is interesting (as it was when you first posted it back when).
When I look at the map, the segments make sense. When I zero in on my state (PA), I have a hard time reconciling Pittsburgh/Philly and the central counties being part of the same nation. The running joke here is that we are Pittsburgh on the west, Philly on the east, and Alabama in the middle.
Do you find the Texan split to accurately represent, based on your perception? Having only really spent time in Dallas and Austin, I don’t see a great deal of cultural similarity with similarity with rural or urban Kentucky…
And you seem to be begging the question - what nation is Georgia?
There are cusps, places where nations meet and overlap.
Then there are events such as migrations, geography, etc.
Yes, the Texas division is accurate. A lot of ours has to do with water and the cultures use of it. If you look at the line in Texas between deep south and greater appalachia, that’s where the water changes.
Cities seem to change things a bit to a lesser extent.
One of the Nations Woodard didn’t address is the black nation - mostly DOS. Congregation in cities. I believe that may be what happened in Georgia, at least in part.
While I think there is some truth to the overall concept, I don’t think I agree with how the map delineates.
I’ve done a lot of moving in my life - living (for at least a year) in at least 5 of those “nations”.
First of all, South Florida - with the exception of maybe parts of Miami - is not “part of the Spanish Caribbean”, but just an extension of particular stratum of wealth and age from “Yankeedom”.
More importantly, I believe the entire premise is fundamentally flawed. I believe geography is less important than population density.
From my experience, a person from Dallas likely has more values in common with someone from New York City than someone from the Southern Tier of New York State might.
You are focusing on migration, you need to zoom out.
Living in Dallas is not the same thing as being from Dallas.
Same with South Florida.
I’ve found lately that asking where the grandparents were from makes it quite a bit more accurate.
Transplants are an issue. They explain Colorado for example.
But you can’t hand-wave transplants away.
Part of being an American is freedom of movement. It is particularly fundemental to me - I am the sort who wants to see it all.
I’m from Brooklyn. So is my mother, and her parents. My father is from San Francisco. His parents were from Colorado. He’s lived in NY for 50 years.
But I have lived in Florida, California, Vermont, Connecticut, Virginia - and two places two hundred miles apart in NY that were more different from each other than San Francisco is from New York, or Oakland is from Arlington.
I would argue that a 3 Nations idea - urban, suburban, rural - is more accurate and reflective than the premise in the OP.
I’m not. Doesn’t change the Nations though. I see the confusion now. American Nations is not about where you live, they are about the culture you are from. Even if I move to Manhattan, I will still be from the Greater Appalachia culture. Does not make sense?
Ruling vs. Country classes are definitely of impact. Are city people the same in LA as Brooklyn as Miami as Detroit?
I’m guessing you meant “City” there, not “Country”.
I can only speak from my own experience, and I pride myself as someone who tries to get along with everyone.
I have many friends who I met in Brooklyn, but who are transplants themselves - from all over the country. The ones who have appeared to suffer the least culture shock are the ones from cities - no matter where those cities are - and those from rural areas tend to suffer more culture shock, even if the town they grew up in is only a hundred miles upstate.
I meant “Ruling”, thanks for the correction.
I don’t doubt that, but it’s not what American Nations is about. What you are describing is not really culture shock, it’s environment. Of course if you come from impossible traffic new impossible traffic is not new.
Again, zoom out. This is about why people are the way they are, why they think the way they do. For example why slavery was “acceptable” in some areas and not in others. Why the states that seceded did so. Why we don’t agree on climate change. Why the South voted for Trump and NYC loves AOC. Why critical theory works in some areas.
Some nations are incompatible. Irreconcilable differences. Some are open to alliances on this but not that. The conflict comes when on nation imposes its values on another.
Just prior to the civil war, the Midlands and Greater Appalachia were basically neutral. They were pretty much fine with state determination, especially the latter. When South Carolina fired on Sumter, that changed.
Of course there was also quite an element of Nietzsche’s resentment against the secessionists - Ruling vs. Country classes.
It would have been very interesting to see what would have happened if the Union had fired first.
But where does the “nation” end, and the individual begin?
One of my wife’s best friends grew up in rural Virginia. She grew up in the Thomas Road Baptist Church, graduated from Liberty University, and immediately moved to Brooklyn.
She has since moved back to her home town - as a liberal activist. Her kids are from Lynchburg - as she is, and her parents are. But their father is a Jewish guy from Brooklyn and their mom is a labor/leftist agitator.
What “nation” are they part of?
Where are her grandparents from?
Lynchburg.
I’d have to ask her some questions about her culture and values.
Depends on how long you stayed.
I haven’t lived in Pittsburgh for years. I still have Appalachian/Midlands “roots” within me, but my outlook has evolved based on other parts of the country in which I have lived longer.
The point that I’m trying to make is that her culture and values differ dramatically from her parent’s values, and their parent’s values, and so on.
It might seem so, but I doubt it. Even if they do some, there is a Nations explanation for it.
