The Big Divide

9/11 helped them along, but the major reason Bush won a second term is because right-wing views, despite their disconnection from reality, have penetrated the country much farther than any of us liberals dreamed. No doubt this penetration is from right-wing radio and Fox News, but perhaps it is also due to the internet, where people segregate off into their own camps to a remarkable extent.

This is certainly a stale bit of conventional wisdom, but it is true-- there is a huge divide between the way people who voted for Kerry and people who voted for Bush see the world.

The people who voted for Bush see 9/11 and the war in Iraq as patriotic issues, and they aren't going to easily change their mind about Bush. The question is-- what can or will get through to these people? Will they ever accept the idea that there is more to 9/11 than the official story and that the Bush administration is complicit in what happened? Are we looking at a mind-set so fixed that it will take years and perhaps a generation of education to undo?

Will these people wake up to the deterioration of the country at some point before it gets too late to fix?

Is Bush directing us to the Rapture?

Are we irrevocably screwed?

Frankly, I don't see much reason for optimisim. But the important issue is-- what is the most effective way to fight back at this point?