A few years ago, Professor Joseph Olson of the Hamline University School of Law in St. Paul, Minnesota, analyzed some results from the 2012 Presidential election and came up with the following interesting facts.

Number of States won by Obama: 19   Romney: 29

Square miles of land in counties won by Obama: .58 mil   Romney: 2.4 mil.

Population of counties won by: Obama: 127 million   Romney: 143 million

Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by:

Obama: 13.2    Romney: 2.1

Professor Olson added: “In aggregate, the map of the territory

Romney won was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of the country.  Obama territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in low-income tenements and living off various forms of government welfare.”

It is obvious that Professor Olson approached this study with a bias, and his analysis appears somewhat superficial and provocative. We must also take note of the old saying that “There are liars, damned liars, and statistics.”  Nevertheless, Olson’s study does reveal the deep split in the American body politic.  That split is partly city vs country, partly economic, partly racial, and partly cultural, and it probably became even more pronounced during the 2016 and 2020 Presidential election campaigns.  I’m certain a study of the results of those campaigns would show the same sort of imbalance as those of 2012.

The split threatens to tear our nation apart.

We are all Americans,  We must try to understand each other, respect each other, and work for the common good.  United we stand.  Divided we fall.  Also, it would be well to remember President Kennedy stirring appeal, “Ask not what your country can do for you.  Ask what you can do for your country.”

But above all, our nation needs a spiritual rebirth.