I’m Mr. Beat Is it time for a divorce?
(turns) Oh don’t worry. I’m not divorcing you. I’m talking
about this national dialogue that’s been taking place here in the United States.
Well that’s CNN. That’s “fake news,” right? There’s no way a member of the
U.S. House of Representatives really Tweeted that.
(Matt at desk) Oh, I guess she really Tweeted this.
To be fair, she later clarified she didn’t want a civil war or even secession to happen,
but still, this got me thinking, what if the United States DID get
a “national divorce?” What would a “national divorce” look like?
Well, in her Tweet, Representative Greene said “we need to separate by red states and blue states.”
First of all, this is not as easy as it sounds. How
would we define “red states” and “blue states?”
The two biggest political parties in the United States are the Republican Party and Democratic
Party, and it’s been that way for at least 168 years. Ok, so I think most of you knew that,
but sometimes I get new folks watching, ok? Anyway, I assume “red states” are
American states that have a majority of people who identify as Republican,
and “blue states” are American states that have a majority of people who identify as Democrat.
But that’s not as easy to figure out as you might think. Sure, you could go by political party
affiliation for each state. But most Americans are not strongly affiliated with either party!
They may lean one way, but tens of millions of Americans vote for both Republicans and
Democrats on Election Day. I bet you didn’t know that, did ya. There are only 4 states where the
majority of residents are Republican and 7 states where the majority of residents are Democrat!
Also, as I stressed in my American Urban/Rural Political Divide video, most Americans who live
in urban areas favor the Democratic Party, while most Americans who live in rural areas
favor the Republican Party. However, even within cities and rural areas, neighbors often have
different political views. My own neighborhood has both Republicans and Democrats living there.
They get along alright…for the most part. (turns) But I get it,
there’s ALWAYS going to be a political party in a state. (turns) So let’s just go with
how the entire state voted. (turns) But according to WHICH ELECTION?!?
Here are the red states and blue states based on governors. Here are the red states and blue states
based on state legislatures. Here are the red states and blue states based on the United States
Senate. But that wouldn’t work since six states have 1 Republican Senator and 1 Democrat Senator.
Here are the red states and blue states based on the results of the 2020 presidential election.
For the sake of this video not going on forever, let’s just go with that
map. Say we split up into two countries based on the 2020 presidential election
electoral map oh CRAP, (looking over) Maine and Nebraska why you gotta do me like that?!?
Ok, so Nebraska and Maine both split their electoral votes, but the MAJORITY of electoral
votes in Nebraska went Republican in 2020 and the MAJORITY of votes in Maine went Democrat in 2020
so…sorry…Nebraska, you’re a Republican state, and Maine,
you’re a Democratic state, at least for this hypothetical divorce, ok?
This would split the country into 25 red states and 25 blue states. Uh, I’m not joking here.
So what if they were two different countries? Well, first of all, the borders would be weird,
but I imagine they would still be fairly open. But what would it look like otherwise? Eh, let’s look
at how they compare today to predict how they might look in the future.
Hey, I guess we can turn this into a Compared video now.
Red states and Blue states Compared
The Blue States have more people, about 22 million more people. (B- 177 million, R- 155 million) That
said, the Blue States have an average population density almost seven times as high as the Red
States. (B- 484 people per square mile, R- 73 people per square mile). This is
because the Red States make up a much larger land area and are much more rural, overall.
I guess you’re probably not surprised by that one.
The Blue States have a higher cost of living, overall. That said,
there are dramatic variations WITHIN both Blue States and Red States. For example,
the cost of living in Austin, Texas, is much higher than it is in Detroit,
Michigan. Related to this, the poverty rate is higher in the Red
States. (B-9.7%, R- 12.2%) Related to THIS, the violent crime rate is higher in the Red States.
More Blue States residents have college degrees (B- 35.4%, R- 31.8%). Overall,
the Blue States tend to have a higher GDP per capita than red states. In fact,
nine of the ten states with the highest GDP per capita are all Blue States, and the bottom five
states by GDP per capita are Red States. The Blue States also tend to have higher median household
incomes. In general, the Blue States tend to have more diverse economies. Major industries
in the Blue States include technology, finance, healthcare, and education. Major
industries in the Red States include energy, manufacturing, agriculture, and military.
Wait, MILITARY? Yep, AND…on average, the Red States receive more federal funding than the
Blue States. The Red States also tend to have more federal land than blue states, especially
when it comes to land managed by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service.
While the Red States depend more on the federal government for funding,
the Blue States tend to have higher levels of debt.
The Blue States are also more generally ethnically
diverse. The Red States tend to be more religious than the Blue States.
But finally, here’s a similarity!
The biggest religion in both the Red States and the Blue States is Christianity. That said, 65% of
residents in the Red States identify as Christian, compared to 53% of residents in the Blue States.
The life expectancy tends to be higher in the Blue States.
Most of the mountains are in the Blue States. Ah, but the Red States have more coastline.
And here’s another similarity- both are increasingly prone to natural disasters.
On average, the Red States receive more precipitation than the Blue States.
More of the Blue States have legalized marijuana.
More of the Red States have restrictive abortion laws.
But now we’re getting into politics again, so maybe I should end it there. Oh by the way, I did
ask ChatGPT “Which states value freedom more, blue states or red states?” and here was its response:
The idea of "freedom" can mean different things to different people, and it is difficult to make
a definitive statement about which states value freedom more, as political beliefs and priorities
can vary widely within both red and blue states. Additionally, different individuals and groups may
have different ideas about what constitutes freedom and what policies and practices are
necessary to safeguard it. Some individuals and groups may prioritize individual freedoms such as
free speech, religious liberty, and gun rights, while others may prioritize collective freedoms
such as access to healthcare, education, and economic opportunities. Ultimately, debates about
freedom and its importance in society are complex and multifaceted, and cannot be easily reduced to
simple political or geographical categorizations. Wow. What a response. Good job robot overlords.
And this response, uh, got me thinking that maybe me doing this video was a waste of time.
You see, pretty much EVERY American values “freedom.” And I’d argue most Americans agree on
most issues. You just wouldn’t know due to certain opportunistic, attention-seeking politicians.
The day after Representative Greene’s controversial “national divorce” Tweet,
she elaborated with a Twitter Thread, and I’m just going to share some of that with you now.
Red state schools would bring back prayer in school and require every
student to stand for the national anthem and pledge of allegiance while blue states
would likely eliminate the anthem and pledge all together and replace
them with anthems and pledges to identity ideologies like the Trans flag and BLM.
Uhhhh yeah, I just don’t think every red state would bring back
prayer in school and I don’t blue states would eliminate the anthem.
Red states would likely have highly supported law enforcement officers
and well funded agencies. Police officers would be well trained,
paid, equipped, and seen as heroes once again, not portrayed as racists thugs.
In blue states, who knows. Police could be anything from unarmed social workers
to doing what Democrat lawmakers have been calling for all along, abolishing the police.
Abolishing the police? Yeah, here I really don’t see red states and blue states acting
much differently. In fact, there is no clear pattern of police funding being higher in either
red or blue states. She is attacking a strawman. (turns) Hey speaking of the strawman fallacy…
In a National Divorce, the left could achieve their dreams of total and complete lawlessness.
Ah yes, blue states love lawlessness. But hold up. Wait, she didn’t write “blue states.” She
wrote “The Left.” Let’s uh, go back up to the beginning of her thread.
Tragically, I think we, the left and right, have reached irreconcilable differences.I’ll
speak for the right and say, we are absolutely disgusted and fed up with the left cramming and
forcing their ways on us and our children with no respect for our religion/faith,
traditional values, and economic & government policy beliefs.
Oh crap, well now she’ll have to define what she means as “left” and “right.”
(hand to temple) Goodness…well I made a video about that, as well.
The bottom line is, I’m not worried about a “national divorce” happening any time
soon. You see, red states and blue states kind of need each other. Heck,
state borders in the United States are often barely noticeable, anyway. I know I stressed
a lot of the differences, but these days, most states have way more in common than differences,
whether politicians like to admit it or not. Sure, Americans seem as divided as they’ve
ever been in history excluding the years right before the Civil War, but that’s mostly because
of the rhetoric we hear from a select few in media who like to keep us riled up and angry
at each other…mostly based on culture issues by the way…because that’s how they make their money.
It’s quite profitable to keep us divided. In fact, it’s why you clicked on this video, innit.
So what do YOU think of this idea of a national divorce? Let me know. I want to
hear from everyone! Folks from red states, blue states, purple states, Latin American states,
European states, African states, Asian states. Heck, even Australian states. (pause) Oh,
sorry New Zealand we forgot you again.