On Sat, 6 Nov 2004 00:08:59 +0200 (EET), Arto Wikla <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I am so sorry and sad for the USA and for the world. > "War" seems to be the word of today's world. > > I send my sincere good will, best wishes and consolations > to all of my good, educated and civiliced American friends!
11/06/04 Hello Arto, I'm beginning to wonder what you consider civilized behavior. Many in the American news and talk show media were surprised by the election results. We in the Midwest were not. There really are 2 separate USAs. I recall a recent census which reported 1/2 of the USA population lives within 100 miles of an ocean (Atlantic, Pacific, or Gulf of Mexico.) That's 1 USA. Then there's the second USA that lies between these bodies of water; the USA that's nearly 3,000 miles by 1,800 miles. It's called the Midwest, mostly. If you live in the center of the Midwest (northern Missouri and southern Iowa), it takes about 2 to 3 years for fad ideas from New York or California to reach the center of the Midwest and to be incorporated. Many of these fad ideas are not incorporated at all, or take a generational timescale (20 to 50 years) to be incorporated. Giving official recognition to gay marriage, allowing abortions for any reason at all, etc. are ideas that have support on the coasts, but not support in the Midwest. This may change, but I would predict it will change on the generational timescale, if at all. The Bush and Kerry campaign managers were astute. They knew they would have to persuade the Midwest. That's the reason for the 'battle ground' states and why so much of the advertising budgets were spent there. If you review the map showing which states went with which candidates, it's quite clear that the South and Midwest went for Bush, the Northeast and Northwest (coasts) went for Kerry. There were few exceptions. Why did the Midwest not go for Kerry? It really comes back to 9/11. As I said before, the Twin Towers are not seen in the Midwest as the symbol of all American economic power (a gross miscalculation by the terrorist planners). It's seen as a workplace and as a place where women and children are present-- a nest, if you recall my earlier post. The Midwest is not loud spoken. We tend to be quiet, hardworking, and loyal. To this day, corporate recruiters from both coasts prefer to come to the Midwest to hire their employees. We have many core tenets or beliefs in the Midwest. One of them is that you never... ever... under any circumstances whatsoever... abuse, hurt, or kill women and children intentionally. And if you do, we will come and show you the error of your ways-- wherever you are and however long it takes. (This core belief is also held by many in the coastal areas as well.) Senator Kerry is from Massachusetts, the Northeast. President Bush is from Texas, the South and Midwest. President Bush's core beliefs about the treatment of women, children, and the family are well known in the Midwest. President Bush's actions to stop the terrorists are also well known. The Midwest may wonder why some things have been done by the President, but his determination and commitment to stamp out terrorism reflect the Midwest determination and commitment. And both the Midwest and President Bush believe the long term means to eliminating terrorism is in promoting a social, economic, and political climate that will allow home and families in every part of the world to flourish in peace and security. I don't go so far as to say that it will be the structure of American democracy that will bring the needed peace and security to everyone in the world, but that the peace and security needs to be there for everyone. Senator Kerry did not show, or started too late to show, the Midwest his core beliefs. I think President Bush only said it once in a major televised speech, but I will never forget that he said, "America must keep its word" to the people of Afghanistan and Iraq. I never heard anything comparable from Senator Kerry. The quiet people of the Midwest will consider very carefully before giving their word, but once given it *must* be kept. That's just another part of the old, unspoken Code of the Midwest-- along with how women and children are treated. I consider protecting, nurturing, and caring for women and children to be civilized behavior. I consider keeping your word, once it's given, as civilized behavior. And I also consider using force when your opponent refuses to reason with you and refuses to cease killing women and children-- is also civilized behavior. Do you disagree? 'The Other' Stephen Stubbs. To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
