Blue State Blues: America’s Divisions are Not Political — They’re Religious

Broadly, the Republican Party is concerned about governance. That is why, for example, repealing and replacing Obamacare is taking so long. The Republican leadership in Washington seems genuinely concerned about passing something that works.

.. The Democratic Party is often called the “party of government.” But aside from representing public sector unions, Democrats do not care about governing — at least, not anymore. To them, power is the means to achieve a kind of secular salvation: a placid world where all are equal, all needs are met, and all are validated — something like John Lennon’s “Imagine.”

Many Democrats accept that the methods they use to achieve their utopia may be harsh, even violent. The ends justify the means.

.. The two parties are not clashing: they are talking past each other, and only seem to be arguing.

.. In extremis, that means taking up arms. For most Democrats, “resistance” means denying Trump’s legitimacy and denouncing the heresy of his supporters.

.. Democrats think Republicans are the religious nuts, because of the party’s stance on social issues. But even the Bible prescribes family values for reasons that are, at least in part, practical. “Honor your father and your mother,” the Bible says (Exodus 20:12), “in order that your days be lengthened on the land that the Lord, your God, is giving you” (emphasis added, obviously).

.. Republicans believe that faith and traditional values help individuals live more fulfilling lives in an orderly society. Democrats substitute the government for God

.. They have their own internal divisions, between

  1. leftists who want the state to do everything and
  2. those who simply want to tear it down along with every other institution.

But both reject America’s founding idea of God-given individual liberty.