One Nation Slightly Divisible

This article was very long but interesting, David Brooks talks about the difference between the north and the south. The basic message I got from this was that the north was urban and fast paced and the south was rural and slow paced. Reading this I immediately thought of Nicolas Sparks' A Walk to Remember, setting a tiny southern town with churches dotted throughout the area, down to earth white people who knew everyone there. In the cities we seem to be moving so fast we forget to take time out for ourselves to smell the flowers. For me my weekends are as packed as my weekdays, there are things to do and people to see. I am hardly at home anymore. And that is what Brooks is trying to get across that in the south people enjoy themselves without a deadline. They are there for their families and enjoying the moment, careers aren't as important as they are in the north. And when I further read about Brooks comparing the likes and dislikes of the north and south, it reminded me of the Blue Collar Comedy Troupe and all their jokes on Nascar, outdoor sports, long sleeved shirts with the sleeves cut off. Speaking of guys with sleeveless shirts, Brooks writes about the difference in men between the north and south which I found interesting. Since the south is more laid back than urban north the way men seem to dress is more laid back and well, rugged. Guys who work in office building in the big cities are expected to be more clean cut and dressed in suits. And the modest style of dress the southern men take upon also reflect on their homes. The wealthy northern families soup up their homes to see who can have the biggest driveways or extra bedrooms. But in the south, an area that is very devoted to God, most of their profits go to the church and the community. I feel that in the city people are more greedy and love to show off their newest piece of technology but in the south they take pride in their own community. What was really interesting was when Brooks stated that in a time of need, even though the north and south are as different as triangles and squares, we are able to unite and help out our country. As Americans we have been noted to be very patriotic and when 911 struck, American flags seemed to pop out of American soil. We all were pro-war we wanted to punish those who have harmed us and as united Americans we think alike. Americans are notoriously known to stick their heads into conflict without realizing the entire story. Once again our nation was divided after the war on terror began. The north and south separated on political views, the south being proud republicans still wanted war and the north saw that our social problems weren't resolving because our tax dollars were being spent on the war and wanted out. Towards the end Brooks acknowledges America as a cafeteria nation, that each region of our country has its own unique quality. Or that America is like a big high school filled with cliques, we all go to the same school and we all have school pride but individually we are different. This made me think about California, even we are split up into "SoCal" and "NorCal" it's interesting to see the difference between these two regions. We are very different on lifestyle, type of people, and dialect but ultimately we are still Californians and still Americans. And in the end of Brooks' article I was a bit confused he kept switching sides on what region he favored more. It seemed at the beginning of his article Brooks' glorified the south and in the end the north was the better region.