During the four days I just spent in southern Alabama there were plenty of signs of conservative culture, from the ubiquitous churches to the types of displays seen in restaurants and bars. But there were very few overtly political indications that people opposed the president or that they belonged to the Republican Party. As we were driving along State Highway 98 along the Gulf Coast, however, we came across a large homemade sign that said simply: OBAMACARE LOOMS.
We all got a huge chuckle out of that and briefly considered turning around to get a picture of it. But we were in a hurry. One wonders what kind of action the sign-maker wanted to inspire. Surely, he wanted to do more than just invoke a feeling of dread. And there are no elections coming up that would have any bearing on ObamaCare, nor would a sign change their outcome if there were.
Yet, as people went about their business, buying and selling things, and going to work, there was no sense that people were dissatisfied with anything. There were no signs of rebellion. Secession was not in the air. No one expressed any hostility to the Yankees in their midst. It seemed like politics was the furthest thing from anyone’s minds.
Nonetheless, this country is more polarized than it has been since the Civil War. I just wonder how much of it is real and how much of it is driven, instilled, ginned-up, by right-wing media.
ObamaCare may loom ominously in the minds of those who watch Fox News and listen to hate radio, but it will become a reality soon with much more of a whimper than a bang. Suddenly, a lot of the poor and middle class of southern Alabama will have access to health care that they didn’t previously have. They will have nothing to be angry about, and much to be grateful for. The people who already have health insurance won’t notice much difference at all, except that their coverage might be better.
What happens, then, to all the portents of doom?
