Most conservative states, cities (enemy, illegal aliens, Minnesota, illegals)

[crittersitter]

Where would you say are the most conservative, traditional thinking people as far as states and cities in the US go?

[tablemtn]

Depends what you mean by 'traditional.'

[litlux]

Real conservative or the new neo-conservative?

[Hawkeye48]

Probably the Montana, Idaho, North Dakota areas. Maybe Wyoming as well. I'd look for pretty much any SMALL city in those areas. Also pretty much anywhere that they don't have illegal aliens.

Yeah, any small city, in the northern central part of the country, without illegals will pretty much be very conservative. You could probably profile other factors in as well. Like the more white and more republican the small city is the more likely it will be conservative.

[mhouse2001]

"Conservative, traditional thinking people" exist everywhere. But nowhere except in deeply rural and isolated places do they form majorities. Why? Because when you don't have access to or are not subjected to the opinions of a diverse group of people, you maintain only basic beliefs about the world however erroneous and inappropriate they may be. While it's nice to idealize such simpler times and simpler thinking, it is still an obstacle to overcome in order to grow.

If this ideology only exists in what could be called social vacuums, why is it even relevant anymore? It clearly has no real value in a larger context because it would quickly be eroded by diversity of opinion and life experiences. It can't exist outside its vacuum without morphing into something else. Why do people insist on holding on to something that must change in order to grow? Why is change so frightening?

[Glitch]

Originally Posted by crittersitter

Where would you say are the most conservative, traditional thinking people as far as states and cities in the US go?

Alaska is pretty conservative, and not in the liberal "neo-conservative" sense either. The Democrat Party is literally a third party in Alaska. Most Alaskans want a fiscally responsible unobtrusive government.

[Hawkeye48]

Originally Posted by mhouse2001

"Conservative, traditional thinking people" exist everywhere. But nowhere except in deeply rural and isolated places do they form majorities. Why? Because when you don't have access to or are not subjected to the opinions of a diverse group of people, you maintain only basic beliefs about the world however erroneous and inappropriate they may be. While it's nice to idealize such simpler times and simpler thinking, it is still an obstacle to overcome in order to grow.

If this ideology only exists in what could be called social vacuums, why is it even relevant anymore? It clearly has no real value in a larger context because it would quickly be eroded by diversity of opinion and life experiences. It can't exist outside its vacuum without morphing into something else. Why do people insist on holding on to something that must change in order to grow? Why is change so frightening?

The reason most of the conservative population of this country lives in rural areas is that the US has had huge amounts of immigration to our larger cities and population centers due to support networks established. So much so we have practically doubled our population in this country in a little over 50 years, and the majority of this growth is due to liberally inclined immigrants coming here, and having children who grow up and have children, who have like minded values of their parents.

In fact the population growth we're seeing is so rapid we will again double our population, but much quicker this next time around. Conservatives are becoming a smaller and smaller part of our population because they are literally being out bred by people who immigrant here and want huge social type programs and benefits.

It has nothing to do with 'changing so they can grow' or 'being frightened of changes'. Different people just have different values, frequently religious based. You don't need to embrace 'liberalism' or 'diversity' to grow as a person. In fact, many people from the very small towns that are so conservative often leave to join the military, or go to college, then return right back home.

[Magnulus]

Originally Posted by crittersitter

Where would you say are the most conservative, traditional thinking people as far as states and cities in the US go?

The midwest and rockies tends to have the most socially conservative people. I'd say the attitude is as much parochial as politically conservative, though. Not very worldly type people vs. people on the coasts. You can see this also in things as mundane as fashion- people in the midwest seem to lag behind on fashion. It isn't always politically conservative, though. Minnesota is pretty parochial in some of their attitudes but the area is politically somewhat liberal. OTOH, Oklahoma has the same parochial type outlook for the most part (in fact when visiting relatives in Oklahoma, it feels almost like the movie Fargo, with everybody being nice all the time- true they do have an accent that sounds like Billy Bob, but the attitude is the same), but tends to vote conservative.

OTOH, people on the coasts tend to be harder-edged. Sometimes gruff. They are more worldly too, more connected with the world outside the US, they adopt stuff faster. I wouldn't say the people are "mean", but they aren't as warm and fuzzy. To go back the Fargo movie, Jerry Lundegard (William H. Macey) character seems nice outwardly, but he's really just a criminal dirtbag who scams people. OTOH, to use another fictional character like Rocky Balboa is a bruiser, a minor mafia enforcer from Philadelphia but he's an honest, sincere person, even if he doesn't always articulate it. So appearances can be decieving.

[boiseguy]

try UTAH.... idaho is republican.. but more because people are libertarian...and side more with republicans... this election should be interesting for idaho though...

[mhouse2001]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye48

It has nothing to do with 'changing so they can grow' or 'being frightened of changes'. Different people just have different values, frequently religious based. You don't need to embrace 'liberalism' or 'diversity' to grow as a person. In fact, many people from the very small towns that are so conservative often leave to join the military, or go to college, then return right back home.

Conservative thinking exists because it doesn't know how to adapt to change. I'm not saying that a conservative has to embrace a liberal idea, but, hey if one wants to ignore the one true absolute in the universe--change--then their belief system will be viewed as increasingly foolish. It is a growth issue for a person to adapt to change. Often, conservatives fail to even acknowledge the change or, more frequently, see it as the enemy. That's a fight they will definitely lose. Their resistance to adapt their ideals to a changing world displays immaturity and self-righteousness, especially when the accompanying religion doesn't adapt either. In my opinion, Christianity has yet to enter the 19th century!

I think a major part of our disagreement is our different perceptions of these stupid liberal/conservative labels. Hard to pin down since everyone sees them in unique ways. Unlike you, I don't for one minute think of immigrants as liberals. As newcomers to our culture, they will take anything they can get. Liberalism gives them more than conservatism does. That doesn't mean they are decidedly one way or the other. Opportunistic, yes, but definitively liberal, no. While I despise immigration (both legal and illegal), I won't blame it for the change in the conservative/liberal population ratio.