Divisions

Astrology, in particular Sun Sign astrology, is continually criticised for categorising people as 12 "types". Those who have delved deeper into astrological discipline know that these 12 "types" are not even the tip of the iceberg, they're the shadow on top of the ocean where an iceberg lies beneath.

As in astrology, so in polls and politics. One would think that counting votes would be a simple matter. 1,000 votes for candidate A, 2,000 for candidate B, 3,000 for candidate C. But no, political pollsters and pundits then segregate voters and their mode of voting in various ways. Male/female, blue collar male/"educated" male ( - cheek!! Why are blue collar people considered uneducated?). White males/black males. White "educated"/white blue collar. Black "educated"/ black blue collar. Same for Hispanic male/female, and for all females. Age groups: under 25, over 40, over 50, over 60 - and on...... along with any possible permutation of all of the above factors. Religion also has to be added to these investigation exercises in the USA -Roman Catholic, Baptist, Evangelist, Black Churches, and all the other denominations. They don't bother with atheists and agnostics - I wonder why?

So really, political polling analysis and astrology have a lot in common. Astrologers must juggle with Sun, Moon ascendant sign, all the planets, points, fixed stars, asteroids, centaurs, nodes.....and more, mixing, blending, analysing, weighing strengths, and synthesising. In most cases, I have to say that astrologers come up with better, more accurate results than the pollsters and pundits ever manage to do.

Leading on from that, a thought from the BBC's Washington correspondent Matt Frei (here)

"When it comes to race, religion and even class, America, the great melting pot, is still an archipelago of hundreds of tribes living largely separate lives in their own communities.
Perhaps it is one of the luxuries of space in a vast country. Perhaps it is proof of prejudice. It certainly undermines real efforts to understand each other, to mingle, to melt in the same pot. "

For all the stated wishes of those on high, or those who aspire to be on high, integration ain't happening in much of the country. There are Black Churches, Black beauty contests, Black TV shows, Black Nationalists, Black Panthers, Black Pride. Comparable White categories could be identified for some of those. In a perfect world, which this is never going to be, there would be no such segregation, only integration - always.

I don't see Senator Obama being "the one" to start bringing full integration about, sorry to say. For this onlooker, at this point, it's nothing but the wishful thinking of his fans. Either it's not the right time, or it's not the right person. I believe the latter. Perhaps Barack Obama is a forerunner (as John the Baptist was a forerunner "preparing the way"). Another, true, uniter may appear in coming years. That's my personal hope.