American Politics totally confuses me.

[logansrogue]

So, I've been reading this school book about American History. It very basically covers the Civil War and the Empancipation of the slave population. But I was really fucking mixed up because the Republicans were the pushy Northerners that wanted to free the black people (a decidedly progressive thing to do), and the Democrats were the Southerners that wanted to keep things just the way they were and keep a hold of all their cheap labour.

...

When the hell did it flip around? I mean, I know not all people from these geographic zones fit into the stereotypes, (some of my best friends are from Texas!) but really... what?! What a difference a couple of hundred years make.

Anyway, it's really interesting reading about how people fought for freedom, I've never really looked into it before. Usually too busy reading my own country's history at school. I'm so fascinated by it all, and I also feel a lot of concern and compassion for those that still suffer racism and prejudice today because of all of that. I want to know the culture of those people. I mean, I know that sounds stupid but believe it or not, most Americans (regardless of race) are intriguing to me on a cultural level because in a lot of ways, you're very very different from what I know (I being an Australian - bad Yoda grammar!) I mean, when I visited America, I had serious culture shock because it was so different. The way I behaved there was actually quite foreign. I talked to cashiers, and smiled at people I passed in the street, quite happily spoke to strangers and cleaned up after myself in restaurants. (I'm not saying Americans are assholes that don't do this, I'm just saying that I got a lot of funny looks for behaving that way). I kept getting into the wrong side of the car and the food tasted totally weird to me. And I was given so MUCH of it if I paid for a meal! It was awesome and interesting and wonderful and I'm sad that I went to America but I never got to go to New Orleans or Chicago, because jazz and soul music is almost a spiritual experience for me and I'd love to know where it started, know the people that created it in the first place. And I'd love to go see a proper gospel choir, that would fucking rock. But hell, I'd love to visit a lot of different places in America. Like Boston, I'd *love* to visit Boston, it seems like an awesome place and the photos Sandy have sent me have sold me on the place cause GOSH - so beautiful.

I know America gets a lot of hate sometimes, but I have to say, I really love the place, and if I had money to piss down my leg, I'd go back there in a heartbeat and just try to meet as many different, wonderful people as possible. Americans are a people that believe they can do anything, they have a tenacity that I find both inspiring and hugely likable. Here in Australia, there's a lot of Tall-Poppy crap and apathy the moment anyone gets a little ambitious. That doesn't seem to be the case quite in the same way in the States.

Anyway, I've rambled enough and probably said things that have pissed people off, mainly because I've made generalisations for the sake of a quick conversation rather than a hugely detailed essay on what I think of the gamut of American Culture.

Fuck it, I just woke up. I love you guys, okay? That's all I'm trying to say. And I want to know more about you.

Comments

[strangedave.livejournal.com]

It is complicated (obviously), but to a large extent you have to understand that the parties, historcally, have been much more like loose alliances of state based parties, with historically the southern Democrats (the 'Dixiecrats') being quite different to the Northern yankee version. In particular, there was a very big shift since Nixon in strategy, coming to full force in the Reagan years, of the Republicans to target the southern Democrats, and effectively supplant them as the party of privilege in the South. Basically, before TV, campaigns were fought much more on a state by state basis -- and the change since TV has made the parties much more uniform than they were before, which generally has hurt the Southern Democrats.

There is plenty about it here