I rather think when he wrote "united" there Jerry was consciusly using the ironic mode, Ron.

As for Jerry's speculation whether its change in the way peopple are, or the medium we're using, I'm pretty certain the major factor is the medium, which allows people who are that way inclined to trail their coat around without any danger, in a way they wouldn't have the nerve to do in real life.

But there is maybe one other factor - which also reflects the medium.

Looking from over here it seems that in the big world there has been an informal understanding in the States over the years that there are two social contexts in which the same kind of music belongs; there is "country", which has right wing-associations, and there is "folk" which has left-wing associations. It's essentially the same music, or at least there is an enormous overlap (leaving aside the kind of "country" that is an embarrassment to everyone)- but the enthusiasts keep apart, so there aren't fights about politics anyway. But here on the Mudcat we bring together people from both worlds, and sometimes they fight like scalded cats.