So, what can I say about the election that hasn't been said already? I'm no fan of most pundits from any side, and I'm really not all that well-versed in politics domestic or foreign. As appalled as I am at the result, I do see how it happened.

A topic that doesn't come up quite as often as it should is the growing divide in America between the mid-to-upper-class and the lower class. The middle class from the past forty years has split noticeably in the past decade, mostly since 1999/2000 and the start of the recession. Manufacturing and skilled labor jobs have been moving out of our borders for years, irregardless of who sits in the oval office or policy, be it Reaganomics or NAFTA. Most of these jobs were based in small towns, where the atmosphere is conducive to small business with low overhead and return. With diminished local economy, small towns have fallen apart. The people are still there, though, because for many it's all they know. Moving to somewhere more viable isn't an option for the older generation that live on the same street they were born on.

The social stigma of being poor in a small town is perhaps a larger factor. The popular vernacular refers to them as derisively as "white trash," and as affectionately as "redneck." I'm no better, I admit. The average person in a small town dresses sensibly and purely for utility on a normal day, never like anything from Vogue. Urban popular culture shifts with the wind and the internet. Small towns, as a rule, do not. Tradition and simplicity are valued by a fiercely proud manufacturing class. With the loss of manufacturing and small businesses, a large degree of pride and purpose were lost as well. Agriculture has been in similar shape. Young people are urged to escape from small towns to pursue opportunity, assuming they can afford it. Often the only employment to be found is at large national chain retailers. Workers dress in cute little uniforms and adhere to dehumanizing policies under perma-day lights. This is a far cry from the locally owned furniture factory where the foreman knew each employee by name.

With these facets of small town culture fading away, it seems that the people in these areas have fallen back on the one thing that cannot be exported away: the church. Poverty and religion have always gone hand-in-hand because of the solidarity found in both. Evangelical Christianity has swelled to enormous levels all over the country, and I believe that this is the reason. The community within this establishment is some of the last vestige of humanity to be found in some of these small communities.

This is exactly where the right wing found traction. Historically the aristocracy has avoided contact with what they view as peasantry, often with disastrous results. The French Revolution comes to mind. The American ruling class has been different since the revolution, though. They know where their labor comes from, and where their soldiers come from. The American Revolution was, as my old history professor put it: "a rich man's war, a poor man's fight." The Republican Party plays this angle well historically, dressing up as common folk when they have to.

Many in the fifty-one percent of voters claimed to have voted based on "values." These things have nothing to do with how to run a country, nothing to do with the economy or health care or education; nothing to do with the prosperity of a nation. Have small town communities really become so disconnected from the rest of the world? If so, then this is a problem. This means that the majority of America is disconnected like this. They voted for what they see as the survival of their way of life, never mind what else was riding on the ballot.

I don't know how to fix this, but something must be done. A large portion of the population has become economically obsolete, but it is still important to recognize them as human and therefore possessing potential. Apparently, just paying them lip service is enough to become president.