Where the Hell is Middle America?

Introduction Where the hell is Middle America? And I’m not talking about Kansas. Are you as tired of the bickering and finger pointing between Republicans and Democrats (despite there being more political parties than just the major two) as I am? I’m not just calling out the politicians but also the people, whom hereafter I’ll call the “electorate.” I think many Americans today feel we are too polarized along political lines and wonder how it got this bad. I want to address various aspects that I think are contributing to this political chaos and try to lure people back toward the middle. If both sides, politicians and electorate, could just tell the truth and also show a little empathy and respect for their opposing ideals, we would all be better off. I’ll show that at least one-third of Americans identify as moderate and typically only share a partial ideology of each major parties’ views. My goal is to provide information on many typical controversial issues of which Republicans and Democrats, are typically on opposite sides of the fence. Many of the same issues that our politicians all profess to being important to them, but I feel all too often that once elected it seems few exhibit the promised actions to show the issue was really important to them at all. I believe in the old adage that actions speak louder than words: many politicians say the right things to get elected but don’t back those words up with tangible actions once in power. It seems too often these petty, divisive public servants just provide empty lip service, and this is applicable to people in many levels of government, not just those in the upper echelons. I will address many of the economic, political, and social issues that divide us, including government spending, taxes, race relations, LGBTQIA+ rights, immigration, police and crime, gun laws, voting rights, education, and much more. With so many issues the main political parties seem to be ideologically split on, how on earth can I write something that may appeal to people on both sides? Or better yet, make it interesting enough to the reader to continue reading to see what’s coming next? In my opinion, many politically based commentaries or published diatribes are pretty one sided and will immediately alienate about half of those reading them. My desire is to pull in readers on both sides by writing about both the positives and negatives, which both sides certainly have. Although I talk about “both sides,” i.e. the Democratic and Republican parties, I will also discuss some other political parties’ views as well. Additionally, I’ll share some historical and current facts on each divisive topic that I hope many will find thought provoking. Here’s a sampling of what surprised me (citations provided later when each is included in corresponding chapters): • Many African countries and even Mexico are more racially diverse than the United States. • Abraham Lincoln, “the Great Emancipator,” ordered the largest mass execution of Native American Indians in US History. And I’ll question if Lincoln should really be the correct person to be called the “Great Emancipator.” • American Indians and post-civil war black landowners also had blacks as slaves. • In 1933, when people were starving during the Great Depression our government bought and killed over 6 million hogs just to keep prices up for hog farmers. • The Republican party was born out of their opposition to slavery and the majority of American blacks were predominantly supportive of the Republican Party until a simple, yet reluctant telephone call from Senator John F. Kennedy to Coretta Scott King occurred. • Even though COVID started in China, the normally secretive Chinese immediately shared critical information to help the scientific world fight this deadly virus, and you might be surprised at how deadly it still remains at the start of 2024. • Some teachers cheat to become teachers and some teachers will pass flunking students for their own benefit (but most teachers are wonderful). • Shockingly, defensive gun use occurs six times more frequently than criminal gun use. • Also shockingly, in many states a person can sell another person a gun with no background check required. • The many wasteful things our politicians have spent our tax money on such as building roads that lead to nowhere. Other crazy taxpayer expenditures disclosed too. • Or some politicians desire for taxpayers to pay for college courses such as “Lady Gaga and the Sociology of Fame,” or “Demystifying the Hipsters,” or “Deconstructing TV’s Buffy,” or “Surviving the Coming Zombie Apocalypse.” No, I’m not making these college-level courses up. • That within the Electoral College, it is mathematically possible to elect a president who only garnered 23 percent of the popular vote. That is just a taste of the many revelations I found in my research that surprised me. While addressing various right and left perspectives on typical hot-button political issues, some chapters may be of greater importance to some readers more than others. But I believe all of the chapter topics are important when it comes to the people we vote for; they will most certainly be asked their stance on most or all of these topics at some point in their run for office. I’m sure some in academia may find holes in some of what I present as many of these topics are entire books by themselves. But I’m just trying to provide some basic educational facts on each chapter topic in addition to opinions. I will not just give my “average Joe” point of view but also the opinions of many prominent scholarly people in hopes of getting all of us to look at ourselves and realize that many of us might not be all that different. Also a few of my personal views regarding some of these issues are also newly minted: I now lean the opposite way on a few issues after learning new information during my research, and I will point out the changes in my positions.