Nope not the setup to a joke, but rather a question I've been asking myself for a while.
Does where I live dictate my label? Or do my values changing because of the region in which I live? This reminds me a lot of the Nature vs Nurture arguments.
I have been thinking about this because of people I've known in each area I've lived. Ohio & Indiana, and now Texas. In Ohio people I have known would have been considered dead center moderates, but in TX they are liberal or barely a moderate with severe leftist leanings. With a few others the opposite has been true; people I would have considered right wing bat $*^# crazy back in OH will be considered conservative here while a moderate in TX is the conservative back home.
I'm not talking about the politicians, but just people that I know. Why does it matter?
Self identification.
Self identification indeed. It is clashing against demographic trends I read/hear about.
I've read about the changing face of America; we're more diverse, our kids don't care about race or sexuality in the same manner as their parents or grandparents. Then I've gone out in public and seen and heard what people still say. It is anecdotal, but not something I can easily ignore.
Things I'd never dreamt of hearing in other states are acceptable conversation locally. Words I don't want to even type are used on the sidelines of kids soccer games. The mentality of blaming the victim isn't just discussed, it is encouraged. See KS Lawmaker thinks women should plan for Rape, like a car repair, and supposedly Kay Bailey Hutchison did focus groups on if putting an innocent man to death would hurt Rick Perry's reelection chances in the last TX governor's race. 2/3 way through "It takes balls to kill an innocent man"
Would this be acceptable in Cleveland? In New York? In Seattle? But in Texas, it is. So when I hear cheering for the death penalty or for letting an uninsured man die, I am not surprised. I don't know the regional leanings from those debates in Florida and California, but I do know the audience was self selected, and even California has some deep pockets of conservatives
Would thundering applause be permissible if self identification was different? If the person was moved, would they still remain the same, and just fall further outside of the local norms, becoming an outlier; or would they change, in the above cases moderating their thoughts? Does where they live matter? Does the region help set the acceptable?
Does this may mean that we will see the rise of regional parties? The modern Republican and Democratic parties already have these tendencies, but this path could eventually dissolve one, or both as a nationwide party. Is the lack of a more "American" view one of the reasons that things can not be accomplished? (Asked in a different form, are our representatives not just looking out for themselves, but a reflection of their region, and their constituent's views?)
And this all leads to my biggest question - What amount of shock does it take to change the sense of regionalism that shapes the political thoughts which are what I think I'm seeing?
Is it an implosion of a big political figure? Is it a series of local/regional riots? Is it a national reaction to something bigger? The bankruptcy of Fox News?
I am still trying to decide if the turmoil of the late 60's and early 70's was enough with Vietnam, Nixon, and the Hippies. (gratuitous link Hippies were right).
A lot of questions, but I don't have firm answers. I still am trying to find my political footing in TX, so I don't know if I am the outlier, if my positions are being subtly changed the longer I live in a conservative area, or if I'm rebelling against living in that area.