Rather than divide the country worse than it is now why not view the problem from its source, different lifestyles in different areas. Many of these are closely related to whether we are in, or from, urban or rural areas. Within larger cities of many "red" states, the lifestyle appears nothing like that in the countryside.

This is often reflected in the citizens' attitudes toward their government, as those in more urban environments must assume their government is going to provide many benefits that allows them to live so close together. Public transportation, police and fire protection, and access to higher education, just to make a short list, are very important to urban dwellers while probably not important, or even seen as unnecessary cost burdens by rural residents.

I think a less disruptive way to calm the waters at the moment would be to allow major cities to apply for statehood separate from the present states where they are located. They would be able to formulate policies that make sense for them without imposing taxes on those who have little need for the amenities required by denser populations. They would also gain representation in the federal government that they don't now have.

The composition of our federal government would change considerably if several such cities were given house representatives according to their population and two Senators. Conversely, the current representation of the state would be diminished and the Senate would be more democratic.