American Culture

America is the land of contradictions: fast-food restaurants with low-carb menus; prefabricated pizza parlors next to organic juice stands; "Trading Spouses" and "Trading Spaces." With an income disparity as large as most third-world nations, the United States has clearly become a land of contrasts. Nowhere was this contrast as clearly visible as in the last presidential election. Perhaps more than any other in recent history, the 2004 results elucidated the currently conflicted character of the nation: America is divided into two camps: the red and the blue. During the election, news stations broadcasted what many citizens already knew: the country is divided, and these divisions characterize American culture. Rural America is almost uniformly politically conservative and Christian, at least according to the ways people in "red" states voted. More homogenous than our urban centers, rural America demonstrates a view of American culture that conflicts sharply from what we...
[ View Full Essay]