Not who we are as a country ...

We hear that a lot these days.

Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, loads of Democrats, and of course the talking heads in the media, say this constantly. And always in a preachy, accusatory manner.    

Which prompts me to ask, just who are we as a country? 

Well, that depends largely on where you live and which media outlets you trust. 

Outside our biggest cities and their close-in suburbs, and excluding college towns, we are essentially a right-of-center country – more traditional and conservative, in other words, than more urban areas and the liberal pockets around colleges. This America is quite a different place – politically and philosophically – than the America routinely portrayed by our media. 

This other America transcends state lines and geographic constraints. It’s in every part of the country, including what are called deep-blue states such as California and New York. Just view the map of the US below showing which counties voted for Trump (red) or Hillary (blue) in the last election: it’s a sea of red across the country with isolated pockets of blue. 

The biggest surprise is that it’s pretty normal.  It’s more representative of the country as a whole than the picture painted by the media.  It’s not overwhelmingly rural, not populated mainly by illiterate rednecks, gun nuts, racists, white supremacists, religious fanatics, and bigots, and certainly not extreme.  In fact, it abhors extremists of any stripe, whether that’s Antifa, neo-Nazis, Black Lives Matter, white supremacists, or any group that relies on bullying, intimidation, or the threat of violence to advance their agenda.   

It’s often baffled by what the national media choose to cover. Not that it doesn’t understand what’s reported; it’s more why things of so little consequence to them and their neighbors are made out to be such a big deal. Like whoever is protesting in the streets over whatever, who had sex with whom a decade ago, who once groped whom, and whatever Trump tweets at 3AM.

What this America actually worries about is putting food on the table, soaring healthcare and prescription drug costs, a good education for their kids, and keeping their families safe. Pretty basic stuff – and the same stuff they’ve worried about for years. The national media don’t spend much time on those issues; the media would rather obsess over the plight of illegal immigrant kids and made-for-TV manufactured outrage over something Trump said at a rally somewhere. 

The opinions of the national media don't carry the same weight here as in the blue dots. 

Most career politicians and bureaucrats are not admired in this America, either.  Nor is there great affinity for public sector employee unions.

The prevailing thought is that many in government are increasingly out of touch with ordinary citizens and operate in a virtual vacuum, which makes them oblivious at times to what’s happening outside that vacuum.  They have little in common with ordinary working citizens – they are paid better, get better benefits, get more time off with pay, worry less about losing their jobs, and are protected from facing the consequences even when they commit serious misdeeds. 

This sense of a disconnect between the governed and those who govern and regulate them comes not from jealousy, but a sincere belief that it’s no longer a government of the people, by the people, for the people, but becoming a government for the people of the government, including politicians. In short, a new political aristocracy is being created, seemingly above the laws that apply to everyone else, and many citizens in this America don’t like that.  

The last Presidential election reflected this. An absolute outsider – not a former member of Congress, not a a former bureaucrat, and not a former politician on any level – carried this other America, despite opposition from practically every establishment party politician, practically every labor union including the public-sector unions, and the majority of pundits and the media.

Or perhaps he won because of their opposition.

This terrified the country – those blue dots – Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer represent.  At the same time it gave new hope to this other America.  And this other America is not a bad place.     

Like most other Americans in the blue dots, there’s genuine admiration for immigrants who come here legally – often with very little – work hard and build a good life for themselves and their families. But there’s little sympathy among virtually all racial and ethnic groups – including native born and naturalized Hispanics – for immigrants who come here illegally, take jobs from citizens, fraudulently obtain benefits, and commit other crimes.   

This other America wants laws to be applied equally to all by an objective, impartial legal system based on the laws on the books and the actual text of the Constitution. Someone’s immigration status, religion, race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation should have no bearing on how existing laws are applied to them – that’s what equal justice under the law is all about to them. 

This America sees our country as a force for good in the world, an extraordinarily generous country, and one of the rare places on Earth where who your parents were, or where you went to school, matters less than what you make of yourself.  Here you can start with nothing and become successful by your own labors – they’ve seen it happen again and again – so they have no animus toward anyone who does that and becomes rich in the process, regardless of their race, religion or ethnicity.

That’s the American Dream, after all.  And they believe it’s real. For everyone. 

So this America is not opposed to legal immigration.  It believes in equal justice under the law for everyone. It thinks most politicians, public service employees, and government bureaucrats are more concerned with helping themselves and keeping their own jobs than helping ordinary citizens. And it still believes we are the land of opportunity for anyone willing to work hard and play by the rules. 

It’s a pretty good place with pretty decent people.  There’s no other place in the world like it. 

I believe this is really who we are as a country.