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"On par" is partly a matter of opinion. Vermont and New Hampshire are small, mostly rural states, though New Hampshire has a few small cities. It's difficult to compare them to all of Pennsylvania; it's more equivalent to a part of Pennsylvania.
Don't remember how controversial Pataki was, but he mostly governed as a moderate, excluding his attempts to instate the death penalty. Senator D'Amato, from Long Island, was a bit wacky and conservative, he wasn't that social conservative, he supported gays in the military in 1993. The difference is, while the rest of the Northeast has some conservatives, the type of vocal, social conservative similar to Santorum would not be elected in any other Northeastern state. And judging by how long Santorum lasted, would have trouble staying in Pennsylvania as well, but has a better chance there than elsewhere. The rural areas of PA look "redder" on average than in NY or other northeastern states, judging from maps I looked at.
I am not the one who brought up that term "on par". The person who brought it up seems to think that PA is some craphole compared to the states to the north of it. Pittsburgh has been named the "most liveable city" several times, and is always near the top of such lists. Rural Pennsylvania may be fairly conservative, but there aren't as many people living there as in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and the other larger cities.
Has nationalism and communication made the whole US more or less approximately the same culture? Of course there are different ethnicities like Hispanics and Blacks who have distinct cultures, but are the differences between say California and Virginia or Oregon and Ohio pretty negligible nowadays?
Is the focus on national identity as an American much more powerful than any regional sort of identity no matter where you go?
Regional identity is extremely strong in the US. I would venture to say stronger than any other developed nation. For example, the area where I am from, the Mid Atlantic, has nothing in common with the overly religious, extreme right wing South. You have a senator from South Carolina claiming that background checks for gun purchases don't work. He wouldn't get elected to dog catcher in PA, yet in S. Carolina he is re-elected over and over. We are an extremely divided nation that simply does not belong together anymore. Personally I despise the US South, and I hate the fact that I am forced to have a govt with their idiotic elected Senators and Rep's ruling over me. I long for the day when the US breaks apart.
Aw, why'd you have to bring politics into the discussion? Go over to the political forum. We're trying to stay out of it here.
I think it's more than just that, I think it's also consumer culture. One of the main hallmarks of a culture is things like food and dress, which are now quite homogenized on a world wide scale, not just a national one.
I am not the one who brought up that term "on par". The person who brought it up seems to think that PA is some craphole compared to the states to the north of it. Pittsburgh has been named the "most liveable city" several times, and is always near the top of such lists. Rural Pennsylvania may be fairly conservative, but there aren't as many people living there as in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and the other larger cities.
You seem to be making a couple of false assumptions here, Katiana.
For one, I've never suggested or implied that Pennsylvania-at-large is a general "craphole," and second, Pittsburg's top ranking amongst "most liveable" cities doesn't automatically obscure PA's overall social statistics (you know, the ones you don't want to discuss) relative to the northward states.
They're not huge, but I wouldn't say they're minimal. In the Deep South, youth and high school football are a huge thing that brings the community together, whereas in my old neighborhood in Northwest DC, I don't think there even was a pop warner football league, but loads of kids played soccer. Also, open references to ones religion are more frequent in the south, while up north people would see you as a fanatic for doing so (minorities not so much, but definitely the white people).
You seem to be making a couple of false assumptions here, Katiana.
For one, I've never suggested or implied that Pennsylvania-at-large is a general "craphole," and second, Pittsburg's top ranking amongst "most liveable" cities doesn't automatically obscure PA's overall social statistics (you know, the ones you don't want to discuss) relative to the northward states.
OK, by rate of HS graduation, the northeast states:
1. New Hampshire, 91.2%
2. Vermont, 91.0
3. Maine, 90.2%
4. Mass. 88.9%
5. Conn. 88.6% 6. PENNSYLVANIA 87.9%
7. New Jersey, 87.6%
8. Delaware, 87.4%
9. Rhode Island, 84.3%
10. New York, 84.6%
Pretty much middle of the pack. I'm not sure what other social statistics you want to discuss. These numbers are from the census bureau.
They're not huge, but I wouldn't say they're minimal. In the Deep South, youth and high school football are a huge thing that brings the community together, whereas in my old neighborhood in Northwest DC, I don't think there even was a pop warner football league, but loads of kids played soccer. Also, open references to ones religion are more frequent in the south, while up north people would see you as a fanatic for doing so (minorities not so much, but definitely the white people).
Thank you for pointing this out. True fact. People in my region don't babble about the bible or their religion. Most would think that very odd and it would shut off the whole conversation. In the South, it is expected. It really is a different country.
Compared to leaving out and going to an ENTIRELY different country in the world and coming back to the USA it feels very minimal.
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