The DeMilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North Korea and South Korea is 2.5 miles wide, located on the 38th parallel, and one of the most heavily fortified borders in the world. It was established in July of 1953 by an armistice agreement that laid the groundwork for a ceasefire between the warring parties. Oddly, there has never been a formal peace treaty signed. President Truman had to whoa down General MacArthur, who was well on his way up through North Korea with every intention of moving on to China. Who knows what the world would look like today had MacArthur been turned loose to “finish the job”? Imagine if you will that this 2.5 mile buffer was suddenly reduced to 1 mile…with tens of thousands of soldiers and millions of dollars worth of military hardware facing off across a barren stretch of land. Do you think it might raise the tension level?
In
many ways, America is now dealing with its own type of separation zone; let’s call
it the DPZ…the DePoliticized Zone. It is
that space that lies between the Republican Party on the right and the Democrat
Party on the left. I am going to put
forth some numbers, but they are my
numbers and cannot be supported by hard data…it is simply my opinion and fodder
for discussion. You can think for
yourself and decide if there is reason in it.
For the first couple of decades in the 21st century, this DPZ
represented about 20 percent of our voters.
On either side of the DPZ, you could find 40 percent of the electorate
faithful to one or the other national parties.
The 20 percent in the middle represented those who might break either
way and typically decided the elections.
I believe that in America today, the DPZ has shrunk down to about 10
percent of the electorate with 45 percent on either side. Not only are voters more polarized…they are also more energized.
These
are the people who do not blindly follow a national party mantra. They may break either way, right or left,
depending on various reasons and have proven nearly impossible for the pundits
to accurately read. Mixed in this bunch
will be serious people who study and think about their choices, smart people
who make snap decisions, busy people who look for the path of least resistance
or the lesser of the evils, and lazy people who flip coins. When considering the DPZ, we should consider
three factors: size, composition, and nature.
As
I mentioned, I believe that the size
of the DPZ has shrunken down to a much smaller portion of the entire voting
bloc…nearly halving itself over the last 25 years or so. That means that as a percentage, fewer people
are determining the outcomes of national elections. The composition
of the DPZ has likely not changed much over the last several years. It is made up of Independent voters,
Libertarian voters, moderate voters of both national parties, and a smattering
of voters faithful to statistically-insignificant organizations of like-minded
people. The nature of these folks in the middle tends to be more of a skeptical
approach to candidate selection, with that approach sometimes being rational
and sometimes being irrational.
Many
of the talking-head political pundits that have graced our media in the past…and the present…like to note that when
elections are close, they tend to break overwhelming towards one party or the
other. This would seem reasonable when
you consider the relatively small percent of all voters this group represents and
the fact that politics is typically not black
and white, but gray in nature.
But if in fact the DPZ has essentially halved its size since the year 2000…that
would mean that more people are
blindly loyal to their own party. The
gray area is smaller and perhaps more
skeptical than ever…while the national party percentages on either side
have grown in number and become much more
partisan…and less selective.
If
we make the leap to accepting this premise, then one thing becomes obvious…what
had once been 2.5 miles separating our warring political parties from each
other has now been whittled down about 1 mile.
If this is true, then we might very well be approaching a cataclysmic
reckoning in the foreseeable future.
Given the partisan venom that exists in today’s political climate,
combined with the global uncertainties of trade/wars/immigration/nation
building/etc., and adding in the radical progressive elements that have seized
control of the Democrat Party…one has to wonder how far away are we from a
significant collision.
When
the DPZ shrinks to the point where it can no longer offer an effective buffer
between the extremities of either party, then conflict is bound to occur. And if our moderating influences are to be
found in that part of the electorate that is diminishing in size and influence,
then the intensity of that inevitable conflict is going to ratchet upward. Is the violence through actions and words
that we are witnessing today in our country a preview of that coming
storm? Will the hatred and blind
devotion to dogmatic ideals that have eroded the middle push the two opposing
sides headlong into a battle that is simply out of control upon its arrival? We as a nation are headed in a bad direction
and everyone should hope and pray that somehow…some way…the diminishment of the DPZ can be reversed.
Our education system in
America…urban/rural/national/local…is corrupted by malevolent, power hungry
egotists and misguided social warriors.
These destructive forces have been called out, but they continue to
operate freely within their spheres of influence and persuasion. They must be eliminated so that the education
of our children might return to something resembling common sense, moral/ethical
purpose, and fundamental preparation for solid citizenship.
https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/we-cant-give-up-on-our-colleges/
https://www.theargumentmag.com/p/illiteracy-is-a-policy-choice
https://jamesgmartin.center/2025/10/alabama-fights-for-freedom/
https://thehill.com/opinion/education/5375575-randi-weingarten-dnc-resignation/
As mentioned in the opening
paragraphs of this piece, radical progressive elements have seized significant levels
of power and leadership in the Democrat Party.
As that Party struggles to find its own identity and mitigate this
corrosive influence, those people and organizations are continuing to run wide
open in their quest to reinvent the United States of America into a place more
suitable to their non-constitutional ideals.
The ONLY way to effectively
combat these forces is at the ballot box.
Elections matter.
What it looks like:
https://amgreatness.com/2025/09/25/the-crudity-of-the-obsessive-compulsive-left/
How it thinks:
https://www.nationalreview.com/carnival-of-fools/jay-joness-texts-are-a-frightening-peek-into-a-bleak-moral-worldview/
https://amgreatness.com/2025/10/07/new-tactics-but-climate-crusaders-running-out-of-options/
How it maintains power and
influence: https://www.nationalreview.com/bench-memos/new-law-firm-donation-data-from-professor-derek-muller-is-wake-up-call-to-corporate-america/
What it advocates:
https://jonathanturley.org/2025/09/29/let-your-rage-fuel-you-politicians-and-pundits-embrace-rage-politics/
Who it chooses to honor:
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2025/09/chirping-for-chesimard.php
What it does with governmental
control: https://reason.com/2025/10/03/economic-freedom-begins-recovery-from-covid-era-government-meddling/
How it administers justice:
https://jonathanturley.org/2025/09/27/new-york-strip-bragg-drops-charges-against-woman-who-attacked-pro-life-advocate/#more-236292
The mainstream media has been a
liberal, Democrat Party lapdog for decades now.
That tide is beginning to turn as the sheet gets pulled back, thus
exposing their bias and unethical operations.
This nation will be a better place if our Fourth Estate can be restored
to a position of respect, integrity, and trust.
The way it has been:
https://amgreatness.com/2025/10/01/ten-years-of-censorship-that-was-censored/
The way it is changing:
https://nypost.com/2025/10/02/media/paramount-skydance-to-name-bari-weiss-editor-in-chief-of-cbs-news-sources/
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2025/10/freakout-at-cbs-news-2.php
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2025/10/the-new-regime-at-cbs-news.php
If I were Donald Trump and had
experienced the sabotage and calculated treachery that he has dealt with, I
would no doubt have blood in my eye and a healthy appetite for getting even. I would want every scoundrel that ever
cheated me, lied about me, conspired against me, or sabotaged my efforts to pay
for their actions. That being said, it
is my hope that President Trump will be satisfied with exposing these
despicable people and their malfeasance to the public. It is a waste of his time to vengefully pursue
his political enemies to the grave. His
time in the White House is limited and there is so much to do that is far more
important than spite and malice.
https://www.nationalreview.com/the-weekend-jolt/lawfare-forever/
https://reason.com/2025/09/29/in-trumps-tussle-with-james-comey-you-should-hope-everybody-loses/
Like his boss, our Secretary of
Defense often does things in a brash and arrogant fashion, thus taking some
luster off of the message itself. To his
credit…his message is correct, his mission is honorable, his plan responsible,
and he is exhibiting personal courage in its pursuit. We can only hope that his
actions match his rhetoric.
https://amgreatness.com/2025/10/04/victory-at-sea-the-importance-of-maritime-power-against-the-prc/
Innovations and advancements in
high technology have taken us headlong into a new frontier. As Captain Kirk said…Where no man has gone before.
It is a double-edged sword that is best reflected in Uncle Ben’s advice
to Spider-Man…With great power comes
great responsibility.
https://reason.com/2025/10/03/apple-removed-iceblock-from-app-store-under-doj-pressure/
https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/30/tech/hollywood-ai-actor-backlash
Per our Constitution, our President
runs our Executive Branch. Or does he?
https://americanmind.org/salvo/jerome-powell-the-feds-white-knight/
The Supreme Court of the United
States is our Constitution’s ultimate decider.
It is the great mediator between the Executive Branch and the
Legislative Branch. The upcoming SCOTUS
session will be as consequential as any that have come before it.
https://thefederalist.com/2025/09/30/the-federalists-guide-to-the-2025-supreme-court-term/
The resulting human loss of the
October 7 Hamas attack on Israel was the statistical equivalent of 40,000 American
lives being lost in a similar attack.
How can ANYONE defend such an action as this and blame Israel for now insuring
the safety and future of its people?
https://www.nationalreview.com/2025/10/anniversary-of-a-horror/
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2025/10/works-and-days-of-hamas-2.php
Big Pharma does great things and saves/improves
the lives of many. But…it is corrupted
by corporate greed and tainted with a God-complex. Congress must sit down with the industry and
fashion a structure that is innovative, supportive, transparent, and
affordable.
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