Happy Birthday — this is our country

I have to keep reminding myself that no matter what happens in the upcoming elections over the next few years or what various Media folks say, this is our country.

I wonder what this means, for example:

• The power of the individual states will be more important? To uphold/create laws and take actions to protect us all against any crazy stuff that happens as a result of the civil war that is already here.
• Could it get so bad that we have to think about who would actually have to fight? Military, Militias, Police, FBI, etc?
• We don’t seem to interact much with each other, is this the problem?
• It appears that certain power/people are using this to get power, but then again you could make the argument that this is the only way for our government to pay attention to the split?
• It looks like this overlays well with the states with the largest cities being Blue or Purple with the exception of Texas.
• Other countries seem to have a similar split (Metropolitan areas vs. other)
• There must be something about Human Nature and the lack of connection with Mother Nature and the simple pleasures of life going on here.

I’m glad I just moved to New York City (from San Francisco). I feel a sense of being around people who are not only “progressive” but are experienced and frank enough to see how we’re all different and appreciate that. We get a lot people from the Mid West here in NYC. I have the pleasure of meeting a lot of them when I’m performing in Midtown, and they love being exposed to all that is going on here including meeting a queen/t-girl like me. I wonder if this representative of the “Red States” VS. are the ones that I’m meeting just the minority? I think it’s the former — I went to college and graduate school in the Midwest (well Cleveland Ohio and Pittsburgh PA) and I really like how different they were from the pomp of the people I grew up with in suburban NJ just outside NYC. It was refreshing. I loved hanging out with those who grew up in a rural area, the truck drivers, the military stories, and getting into flying small planes. And they enjoyed meeting somebody so different, a hardcore East Coaster.

So is this really our country, or is it a separation that can easily be mended by both sides spending a little more time with each other? And staying away from focusing on the toxicity of the cyber echo chambers that those in power use. A long cross country road trip for many of us should be in order.

Happy Birthday and Happy July 4th!