Thread by @dcpetterson

A discussion is being had about how to unify the country after one of the most polarized periods in our history.

It's possible to overcome rancor. German, Italy and Japan are now our allies, after the most destructive war human civilization has ever seen.

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To oversimplify a bit, what brought us together was the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after the War, and the equivalent effort to rebuild Japan.

America and our allies invested heavily in helping our devastated former enemies get back on their feet.

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In modern America, red states are crumbling. They survive only from a massive influx of money from blue states. But red state governments mostly control where that money goes, and it's not really helping the people. It's just propping up red regimes.

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This is just a nebulous idea so far, I don't have enough details. We must show red states why blue states are successful, and they're not--and we must show them how they can enter the community of 21st Century civilization and join in its treasures.

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Of course, the reason they haven't yet is that they wallow in bigotry, and can't stand the thought of any of the people they hate being allowed to not suffer. That's harder to overcome, but the Germans and Japanese have faced that, too.

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My point is, it's possible. We need to find a way to do it, and one way to accomplish that is to look at what has already worked.

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