Comments on: Mapping politics (and the politics of maps)

By: Mary Knapp

Mary Knapp — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 20:12:40 +0000

Cora, I have been thinking of your comment for several days. You pose an interesting and valid insight into the life situations that differentiate us. I choose that word rather than divide, because I believe that we are united by our humanity more than divided by our life environments. Although I live in a major city (Miami) I have emotional and spiritual ties to the land-oriented life, both from a cattle-ranching childhood and present ties to Appalachia, where we don’t live but own land (no house — we camp) and share friendships with our neighbors who do farm and otherwise live from the bounty of the forest.
I wish there were a way for Americans (red and blue) to get to know each other and share their struggles and triumphs. It’s true that backbreaking work and closeness to the land build character and courage. We who live in the city don’t have those experiences. We do, however, need courage and strength to faithfully complete mind-numbing or stressful jobs. To drive a bus full of tired commuters, to continue serving hamburgers when we need to sleep, or even to grind through massive Excel spreadsheets so our employer can stay afloat.
What can we do to mend this divide? There is no substitute for personal contact, but reticence or shyness prevents this in many cases. This summer we shared a 10-hour van drive to the Peruvian cloud forest with some birdwatchers from rural Iowa, during which we shared details of our lives with each other, as well as our common love of a glorious environment. I have breakfasted with our boy scout troop at a local eatery on one of the dirt roads in Colorado without sharing a word of conversation with the ranchers who were also eating there. Many Sundays my husband and I lunch outdoors on South Beach, see the heartland tourists walking by (you can tell them by their pale skin and modest dress), but never dare to say “Hi, won’t you join us for a sandwich.”
I’m just posing a question, and asking for ideas. As I fly from city to city, I am reminded by the beautiful patchwork of farms that there are wonderful people living productive lives to provide us with food. How I would love to meet some of them! We are all Americans united by interdependence and love of our country. I agree with you that we should find solid meeting ground.

By: Simon Hearn

Simon Hearn — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 15:01:40 +0000

Love this post. Thanks Ben. Just saw this post too, which morphs the map by ad spending per voter per state. Political economy visualised!

http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2012/11/01/163632378/a-campaign-map-morphed-by-money

By: Monday Medley « No Pun Intended

Monday Medley « No Pun Intended — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 12:01:38 +0000

[...] do maps affect our understanding of the electorate? Are there better ways to visualize American voting patterns? And will Republicans ever win [...]

By: stevee

stevee — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 22:25:08 +0000

looks like someone is tripping

By: Carl VanderZanden

Carl VanderZanden — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 04:05:45 +0000

What this map doesn’t show us (and can’t, because of the limitations of an archaic, 2 party form of democracy), is people’s true values and visions for our politics and government. We can’t see, for example, how many people voted for 3rd parties. Or the “colors” of the people who didn’t vote (about 50% of eligible voters), because neither “red” nor “blue” represented their hopes & beliefs.

By: Caitlin

Caitlin — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 02:16:36 +0000

Not divided by geography.

By: Blackmoor Vituperative » 2012 vote distribution

Blackmoor Vituperative » 2012 vote distribution — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 00:45:20 +0000

[...] P.S. Mapping politics (and the politics of maps) [...]

By: Dennis P. German

Dennis P. German — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 19:08:07 +0000

I always knew this but, lacking the resources, I never thought to flesh it out like this…the 2012 county cartogram looks like a photo from the Hubble telescope… most appropriate, I think.

By: Alexander Lang (@alexlang11)

Alexander Lang (@alexlang11) — Sat, 10 Nov 2012 17:14:02 +0000

Excellent – very thoughtful. Edward Tufte would love this….

By: Dom

Dom — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 15:16:01 +0000

Alaska and Hawaii aren’t part of the US anymore?