America's "Two Nations"

There's an interesting article here on the BBC website, which has some familiar echoes for those of you who, like me, are interested in the history and culture of Ulster. Whilst we have an historic triple-blend (which I'm told is how Lowland Scots produce their whisky) of Irish, Scottish and English, America has been presented as a much more exotic combination of cultural and racial groups - a "melting pot".

However, the article contends that America is "two nations", but neither divided by culture or race, nor neatly divided geographically down the Mason/Dixon line into the North and South of the Civil War / War Between the States of 1861-65. No, the division is by "their attitude to the state and its role in the economy". I haven't been paying much attention to the growth of the Tea Party movement in the US, but this article has made me take notice. Government should serve the people, rather than people serving the government. We only have to look south of our own border to see the impact of reckless economic policy and an out-of-control ruling class. In previous centuries the reaction of the general public would have been rebellion and revolution.

Let's see what next Wednesday brings to us here in the UK.

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