Red state values: visiting the family farm in Idaho

When I was young, my family would take vacations to visit my mother's family in the middle panhandle of Idaho, where she had been born to German immigrant farmers. Her two brothers dry farmed wheat and other crops known to grow on the Camas Prairie.

The drive from San Jose, where my father worked for IBM with his degree in metallurgy helping to invent the "platters" used for hard disk drives, took two days.

My mother would always be offended when a Silicon Valley friend would ask her "How was the trip to Iowa?" Millions of rural Americans were offended by the urban/suburban ignorance. I remember when my parents had bought a Cadillac for my mother, and we drove it Idaho. My father had also bought a Porsche. I could sense the awkwardness when my father and uncle would complement each other on their lifestyle. My uncle complemented the car, and my father responded, awkwardly, that he would probably die earlier because of the stress of his job.


Karl Rove would capitalize on this and win elections. In doing so, he would drive a cultural wedge in our country. He, rightfully so, identified an elitist attitude of the 'coastal' liberals versus the rural conservatives. However, I believe that the strategy has played out. Moderate rural conservatives are tiring of this divisive strategy. Sarah Palin dividing America into the 'real pro America' versus whatever is the opposite is not playing well. Oh sure, her 40% would elect her Queen of America if that was possible, but the moderates are beginning to feel duped. Most 'liberals' don't have antimosity towards rural folks, they simple lack understanding. Obama is polling even in rural areas according to some polls. The 'culture wars' were something created by the right to use to beat the left. Yes, the left has been ignorant and culturally biased. But they have never tried to use this as a tactic to win elections. The GOP has for 20 - 30 years, and now it is played out.

Visiting my uncles and grand parents on the farm were some of the fondest memories of my childhood. As I grew up and became liberal myself, I would always look forward to heart felt conversations and arguments with my conservative uncles. We used to joke that if there was any solution to getting unity in the US, it would come from these conversations. I get teary-eyed every time I hear the national anthem. My uncle served as a Marine. Neither of us would ever question the patriotism of the other, or suggest that somehow one of us was more American than the other. Neither of us would accuse the other of being anti-American.

Now that Karl Rove has left the conversation, there is hope of bringing America together, and Obama represents that hope better than Sarah Palin does.