Posted on 12/07/2018 1:42:20 AM PST by vannrox
Correct. If the US had the same standard of living as Yugoslavia in the 1990's or Iraq an Syria in the 2000's, we would have had a civil war along racial lines far more savage than anything that happened in the Balkans or the Middle East. What this proves is that all of the whining about "minority poverty" in the US simply isn't true, because what we're calling poverty is prosperity by much of the world's standards. Even our "poor" have too much to lose materially to throw it all away in armed conflict, apart from those who are career criminals regardless of circumstances.
Don’t agree with the Yugoslavian model. The situation more closely resembles America between the years 1750 to 1770. It’s a battle between the privileged class - the Tories - vs the Americans - patriots. That the privileged class is made up of racial, social and economic favorites is irrelevant. They’re still Tories - embraced and nurtured by the king (the deep state).
California is pretty much their own country living under their own rules now. Look at the mid terms and their election laws and norms. They just literally stole 5-6 elections with their new rules. And no republicans are fighting them about it so what’s to stop them?
They ignore the USA’s sovereignty by ignoring citizenship laws. They’ve been out there trying to do their own ‘global’ trade.
Climate change is now a part of their governmental system.
You beat me to it. Yes it’s here. Canada also.
One already notices this when they cross the border into NY or NJ as they pass into the Northeast.
Legally and culturally the northeast is nothing like the rest of the US. And they have the crustiest bathrooms outside of the eastern bloc.
The people, like those in Europe, balk at the idea of freedom and liberty because also like the Europeans they are born several generations into tyranny and don’t recognize it.
California is also completely separated from the country. While it’s a bit prettier than New England it’s still like going to a different country in the way that you handle yourself, those around you and even the languages spoken.
We remain to comfortable to fight for our rights because we have enough stuff.
I think you’re correct. I don’t think Americans will fight unless they feel that they have something to lose.
Looks like something Harry Turtledove may have come up with in one of alternate history novels.
While it is true that the US is seriously divided, the Balkans is not necessarily the best historical model for what is happening in the US today.
The Balkans have been divided ever since the decline and ultimate crack up of the Ottoman and Austro Hungarian Empires. Before WW1 there were several internecine Balkan Wars based on religious, cultural and ethnic differences. The Yugoslavian state was always divided along these lines before and after WW2.
Unlike Yugoslavia, or the Balkan States, the US is an historic super-power. I would look to other empires for historical comparisons that could shed some light on future scenarios. Break up of USSR or Roman empire perhaps.
We’ve become The United Nations... :(
No, it is already here, if it wouldn’t be for a reasonably good economy we already would have a civil war. Just hope and pray that the economy hangs in there, if it doesn’t all hell will break lose. Some people may think so, but nothing has changed of the old adage ” United we stand, divided we fall” Anyone telling that there is any merit to multi culture is full of crap.
See my tagline.
There are several Serbian families in my neighborhood. One of the young wives is definitely hot.
Unfortunately, parasites always follow their hosts. They will storm the borders of the productive areas.
The only think I know for certain about that map is that it is wrong and dated.
I believe the lines are also way too clear. Cities like Austin, Dallas, Fort Worthless, Salmontonio, Denver, Kansas City, St. Louis would hold out. Parts of Arkansas and Missouri would never allow themselves to be part of that red area and would be given up for swampland.
If it stands alone again it will be a Mexican state.
“Even our ‘poor’ have too much to lose materially to throw it all away in armed conflict,....”
So true. 21st Century America must be the only place on earth, in any time in history, where the homeless own more possessions than they can carry.
Not to mention the only place on Earth where many people living below the official poverty line have a car, a TV, and an iPhone.
Our poorest are the most likely to be obese and are the most entertained poor people ever. These are things that have never happened before. It’s hard to imagine any sort of widespread civil unrest while these conditions exist.
Also, the number of folks who chose not to vote have outnumbered the turnout for any single political party for 100+ years. For midterm, state and local elections both political parties combined are dwarfed by the number of people who choose not to vote. Not that I think it would be better if more voted necessarily. But you would think more would simply deign to vote if they really thought things were so bad before they start splitting up the country.
FReegards
We were actually more "Balkanized" several decades ago. I grew up in the Boston area but most of my family was from Alabama so my father would send me there for the summers to stay with my grandmother.
When you entered the Deep South in the early 1970s, it was a totally different world than the rest of the country. The southern accent was much more pronounced and it was difficult to understand them (and vice versa). Even the little things were different, for example, they would have Dr. Pepper soda everywhere and even to this day, the smell of Dr. Pepper reminds me of the South, even though Dr. Pepper is everywhere now. Most men down there still wore overall and chewed tobacco - things you NEVER saw in the Northeast. I can go on and on.
These days, the South is just about the same as everywhere else. Last time I was down there, I drove the Highway 431 stretch from Boaz to Guntersville and saw the same Walmarts, McDonalds, Applebees, Lowes, Subway, Courtyard Marriotts and Starbucks that I see everywhere else. The only thing left that reminded me of the old days was the Catfish Cabin but even that place looked run down and past its prime.
So I see LESS differences between the regions of this country that I used to. Also, something that most Freepers probably can't relate to, the vast majority of Americans couldn't care less about politics, liberal vs conservative, and what not. They just go about their lives and whoever gets in (office) gets in. They just go about their lives regardless. I know we don't like to hear that but it's true.
Yes, there is something that rings true in what you say. I too lived in Boston, and I too spent years in the Deep South. Of course, I look at the USA from my telescope here in China, and what I see is disturbing.
Yes, the fast food chain and restaurant franchises has changed American culture into a kind of bland-corporate-pop shadow of what it once was. But, if you look closely enough, you can still get fried catfish, and pickled tomatoes in Mississippi. You can still get a Moxie in Milford, MA. You can still hear a think regional accent in Little Rock, AR.
Yest, with the regional differences in culture, there was a unifying theme. We were all Americans. We supported our families. We went to Church. We played football, and we could talk about cars.
Not so much today.
Balkanization is not ONLY about culture. It is about shared identities, histories, and families. Have you tried talking about the Dallas Cowboys with an SA from Honduras? How about talking with an Islamic mother of ten about going to church?
This is serious times brother.
I’m glad that I am on my little lifeboat, way out here. But, sadly, I am watching the USA go up in flames slowly. Soon it will be another Brazil.
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