Shaker , what you have to realize about the US is that for all the supposed 'modernity' the place still has a strong Puritan ethic .......a prime example , and this is no joke and you will roll on the floor laughing , but.....I've found lots of Americans still have a belief that you are some sort of a 'sexual de-generate if your underwear is any colour but white
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I see loads of folks in my area going to church on Sundays , but the problem is they are not the 'mainstream' Churchs , but the Blood and Brimstone evilgelical type , (not so much different than the radical islamic mosques ) Everything can be described by using the old cowboy movie analogy/metaphor , White Hat = Good , Black Hat = Bad with no compromise in the middle.
Think what we are seeing in present day Republican party are the last gasps of white political power , population projections show that whites will be a minority by 2040 (still the largest group, but less than 50% of the total ) thus the Republicans distaste for abortion , (more whites have abortions than any other group).