The Red State-Blue State Divide: Natural Disaster Edition
Call your Members of Congress at (202) 224-3121 to tell them to protect American families by immediately restoring funding to NOAA and the NWS!
Last month, I wrote and published a Resistbot script, urging readers to call upon their Members of Congress to immediately restore funding to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service (NWS). That was before tragedy struck along the Guadalupe River, with flood waters taking at least 120 souls.
Natural disasters don’t care about our politics. When the winds howl and waters rise, none of us are shielded by party loyalties. Red or blue, we all huddle in fear, brace for impact, hold our children tight, and count our tragic losses in the aftermath.
That’s why I was surprised by some of the responses to my call to action. One left-leaning person quipped, “All those trash southern coastal cities who voted Trump are about to go thru some things.” Another said, “It’s FAFO time for hurricane-prone states that voted for Trump!” And there was this angry comment: “They got EXACTLY what they voted for!”
I understand the pain and frustration behind those words...sort of. We’re all hurting, searching for places to lay blame. Voters in “red states” seem, to some, to be valid targets. But, are they?
With democracy itself hanging in the balance, we cannot afford to make wrong and harmful assumptions about each other. Alienating allies in so-called “red states” weakens the pro-democracy cause, and drawing battle lines on election maps is not only shortsighted but exactly what those who wish to divide us want. I live in North Carolina—a state that went for Trump in 2016, 2020, and again in 2024. So, I’ll use my state as an example.
In the 2024 presidential election, 2,715,375 North Carolinians voted for VP Harris. That’s 47.65% of the total vote. Trump received 2,898,423 votes, or 50.86%. The difference? Only 183,051 votes!... Yes, our state was called for Trump. But, to be clear, the 2.7 million people, myself included, who stood up for hope and progress did not get what we voted for, and our heartbreak is felt anew with every piece of regressive legislation forced upon us!
Remember, Red State Citizen ≠ Republican
It might be tempting to lash out at “red states” as our country teeters on the edge. But when we do, we’re hurting millions of allies who are tirelessly fighting for justice and democracy. REPUBLICANS are responsible for Republican policies—and for the disinformation that fuels “red” voter turnout. Trump and his party are to blame for gutting NOAA and the NWS, not the whole of “red states.”
All we have at this precarious moment in time is the resolve of our allies, and allied lines have little to do with “red state” and “blue state” borders. If we paused and looked more closely at 2024 election outcomes in the “hurricane-prone” southeast, we’d see allies everywhere! Across the states of LA, MS, AL, FL, GA, SC, and NC, more than 12.5 million allies, in total, cast ballots to defend the freedoms enshrined in our Constitution. Make no mistake…Here, in the “trash southern coastal” states, democracy is alive and well!
We’ll need each other more than ever in the months and years ahead, so we must be careful who we cast aside. Our best bet is to strive for unity within our pro-democracy movement, because - between Mother Nature and the Trump Administration - NONE of us deserve the hardships that are coming our way!
Want to make a difference today? Call your Members of Congress at (202) 224-3121. Tell them to protect American families by immediately restoring funding to NOAA and the NWS!
No child deserved to be drowned because her parents may have voted for Trump.
Excellent advice! Those scary RED maps don't serve us well at all. And lifetime GOP voters in your area might be having second thoughts as this administration gets more and more un-American. Walk the talk of love your neighbor, and open the tent to fit in those who've been made homeless - figuratively and literally.