September 5, 2023 – American Deep South
There is a long and growing list of things I don’t understand. Principal among those mysteries is,
“What the Hell is happening to the United States of America?”
Our neighbours to the south have always been a nation of polarities, rich and poor, black and white, urban and rural, liberal and conservative, but the dichotomy has reached a point where Americans have devolved into two irreconcilable tribes. The two factions use the convenient labels,
Democrat and Republican,
but their differences run much deeper than politics. The tribes could also be appropriately labeled,
The Limousine Left and The Basket of Deplorables,
European Descendants and Everybody Else,
The Affluent and The Not Quite Getting By,
The (Pick a Religion) or The (Pick Another Religion).
Bear and I are on our way to Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Alabama, on a mission to try to understand what has brought Americans to the brink of civil war.
That, and to see the world’s largest alligator,
14’ 3” recently captured in Mississippi.
Polarity among Americans used to be a laughing matter. Remember all the movies and sitcoms that used cultural juxtapositions to create comedy or drama?
All in the Family and The Jeffersons, used race relations as the foundation of humour.
“I ain’t no bigot. I’m the first guy to say, “It ain’t your fault that youse are coloured.”
– Archie Bunker
The Beverly Hillbillies took the urban/rural divide and turned it into the longest running sitcom in history.
A more recent mini-series, Ozark uses the situation in reverse, sophisticated northerners thrown into a southern culture.
“If you’re a killer, then I’m Snow White. And I don’t see any dwarves around.”
– Ruth Langmore
Fifty years transpired between The Beverly Hillbillies and Ozark, but the American dichotomy still exists. In fact, it is more pronounced now than it was when Granny was tormenting Mr. Drysdale.
Bear and I intend to wander through the American South and cipher on it a spell.
I believe I am uniquely positioned to understand the American divide. Being Canadian, I don’t have a dog in the fight, so I can observe without bias. Also, I have been both rich and poor, a believer and a skeptic, a liberal and a conservative, and I have lived on either side of the rural/urban divide.
I have castrated a pig and milked cows by hand regularly. I have also negotiated contracts with investment bankers in Toronto, Minneapolis, and New York. I am able to see the world from the perspective of both Jed Clampett and Milburn Drysdale.
We don’t intend to confront or even discuss politics with Americans in the Deep South, but we will observe closely and watch the interactions of the warring factions. Bear and I will report back on what we discover about the seemingly unrepairable, unbridgeable polarity that has crept into the American psyche.
We will let you know if we think our southern neighbours are in imminent danger of …
… Getting a Divorce.
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