Editing 2103: Midcontinent Rift System
Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
The edit can be undone.
Please check the comparison below to verify that this is what you want to do, and then save the changes below to finish undoing the edit.
Latest revision | Your text | ||
Line 8: | Line 8: | ||
==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
− | Recently, USA politics has caused polarization of the public.<ref>[https://news.gallup.com/opinion/polling-matters/215210/partisan-differences-growing-number-issues.aspx Partisan Differences Growing on a Number of Issues]</ref> It is said to be “split” in two camps ( | + | |
+ | Recently, USA politics has caused polarization of the public.<ref>[https://news.gallup.com/opinion/polling-matters/215210/partisan-differences-growing-number-issues.aspx Partisan Differences Growing on a Number of Issues]</ref> It is said to be “split” in two camps (liberal, mostly loyal to the Democratic Party and conservative, mostly loyal to the Republican Party). Here [[Black Hat]] is trying to get elected to some sort of federal office in the {{w|2020 United States elections|at the time upcoming 2020 elections}} by promising he will actually split America in two. His presentation illustrates, using a giant crowbar, the completion of the {{w|Midcontinent Rift System|Midcontinent Rift}}, which is a large crack that started to form about 1.1 billion years ago, but failed to completely sever the continent. | ||
It is unclear why anyone would vote for such a thing, but people directly affected (the Midwest) are likely to vote against [[Black Hat]]. While Black Hat and his campaign advisor [[Ponytail]] speak of weakness in the Midwest, they are talking about two different things: Black Hat refers to the physical weakness of the North American Plate in the Midwest due to the geological rift which he thinks could be exploited by a large enough crowbar, while Ponytail is referring to a political weakness for Black Hat’s campaign in the Midwest due to the likely-unpopular proposal (different regions of the US have different voters and populations who have different priorities and stances, so candidates and their campaigns’ platforms will likely be more popular in some regions and less popular in others). In this case a successful or attempted completion of the rift would likely result in the destruction of millions of houses, buildings, and other man-made structures, not to mention the deaths of many humans (if proper evacuation were not fully implemented and enforced) as well as millions of animals that could not be evacuated. The proposal would also cause huge economic impacts; the Midwest produces a significant proportion of America’s food supplies and hosts important economic centres, such as Chicago and Cleveland. So the popularity among those directly or even indirectly affected is likely quite low. The successful passing of a highly destructive measure such as this would generally involve more direct and overwhelming compensation of the many interests that would otherwise be harmed, to incentivize them to vote against their present livelihood. | It is unclear why anyone would vote for such a thing, but people directly affected (the Midwest) are likely to vote against [[Black Hat]]. While Black Hat and his campaign advisor [[Ponytail]] speak of weakness in the Midwest, they are talking about two different things: Black Hat refers to the physical weakness of the North American Plate in the Midwest due to the geological rift which he thinks could be exploited by a large enough crowbar, while Ponytail is referring to a political weakness for Black Hat’s campaign in the Midwest due to the likely-unpopular proposal (different regions of the US have different voters and populations who have different priorities and stances, so candidates and their campaigns’ platforms will likely be more popular in some regions and less popular in others). In this case a successful or attempted completion of the rift would likely result in the destruction of millions of houses, buildings, and other man-made structures, not to mention the deaths of many humans (if proper evacuation were not fully implemented and enforced) as well as millions of animals that could not be evacuated. The proposal would also cause huge economic impacts; the Midwest produces a significant proportion of America’s food supplies and hosts important economic centres, such as Chicago and Cleveland. So the popularity among those directly or even indirectly affected is likely quite low. The successful passing of a highly destructive measure such as this would generally involve more direct and overwhelming compensation of the many interests that would otherwise be harmed, to incentivize them to vote against their present livelihood. | ||
− | The title text is a pun. A {{w|wedge issue}} is a controversial issue which splits apart a demographic group. It is often introduced to create controversy within an opponent’s base so that if the opponent takes any position on the issue, half the voters will desert the opponent. Here the joke is that the “wedge issue” is an actual wedge to split apart the United States | + | The title text is a pun. A {{w|wedge issue}} is a controversial issue which splits apart a demographic group. It is often introduced to create controversy within an opponent’s base so that if the opponent takes any position on the issue, half the voters will desert the opponent. Here the joke is that the “wedge issue” is an actual wedge to split apart the United States. |
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
+ | |||
:[A map of North America shows the Midcontinent Rift System as a red line curving through the Great Lakes and down through the midwestern United States.] | :[A map of North America shows the Midcontinent Rift System as a red line curving through the Great Lakes and down through the midwestern United States.] | ||
:1.1 billion years ago, the North American continent began to split in half. | :1.1 billion years ago, the North American continent began to split in half. | ||
:[Black Hat stands at a lectern with a "Vote 2020" sign on it. He gestures to an image of the globe with a giant crowbar inserted in the rift with an arrow indicating applying pressure to widen the rift.] | :[Black Hat stands at a lectern with a "Vote 2020" sign on it. He gestures to an image of the globe with a giant crowbar inserted in the rift with an arrow indicating applying pressure to widen the rift.] | ||
− | :Black Hat: We don’t know why it stopped. If elected, I vow to ''finish'' the job. Thank | + | :Black Hat: We don’t know why it stopped. If elected, I vow to ''finish'' the job. Thank youl. |
:[Ponytail, Black Hat, Megan, and Cueball walk to the right away from a set of stairs. Cueball is looking at a phone and Ponytail is looking at a device or paper with writing on it.] | :[Ponytail, Black Hat, Megan, and Cueball walk to the right away from a set of stairs. Cueball is looking at a phone and Ponytail is looking at a device or paper with writing on it.] | ||
Line 26: | Line 28: | ||
:Ponytail: Well, I’m seeing some weakness in the Midwest. | :Ponytail: Well, I’m seeing some weakness in the Midwest. | ||
:Black Hat: So am I. So am I. | :Black Hat: So am I. So am I. | ||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
− | |||
{{comic discussion}} | {{comic discussion}} | ||
[[Category:Comics with color]] | [[Category:Comics with color]] | ||
Line 38: | Line 36: | ||
[[Category:Elections]] | [[Category:Elections]] | ||
[[Category:Maps]] | [[Category:Maps]] | ||
− |