Maps of the Red, Blue and Purple USA
A lot of word have spoken over the past few months on the subject of which states are red (Republican) and which are blue (Democratic).
As soon as John Kerry conceded his defeat, President Bush was talking about his "mandate" from the people.
Here is the map of what some might call the DSA, The Divided States of America. It gives the impression that states vote Democratic or Republican when in fact, only individuals have the capacity to vote.
Here’s another map from USA Today by county. It has the same problem, however, in that it associates a party affiliation with an entity that doesn’t have the capacity to hold beliefs.
This map from a Princeton University web site takes each county and colors it with both red and blue pigments in proportion to the number of individuals who voted Republican or Democratic respectively in the presidential race.
Delivering Hope posts another version of the Red/Blue map with his comments.
Those red and blue maps always make the country look more Republican than it is. For one, rural areas which tend to be more Republican cover more acreage, and for another red and blue ignore both the red sentiment in the blue areas and the blue sentiment in the red areas. Enough already with all the secession talk. Let’s paint a more accurate picture instead.
Here’s is a page that has versions of the above maps, cartograms and more. Check it out. It’s really great. Suddenly it doesn’t look so black and white, er.. red and blue as our president who is a divider, not a uniter would have us believe.
There is very little true red or true blue in our country. It would nice if both Democrats and Republicans would stop trying to convince us that we must belong to one camp or the other and that states, not our own minds, determine who we are, what we believe and value.
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