I consider myself to be a resident of Madison; my roots are only 35 miles — but a world apart — from campus. Growing up in Jefferson, just east of Madison, life is typical of a small Wisconsin town: Everyone knows everyone else (and everyone else's business), the major division in town is between Catholics and Lutherans, and Sunday services in the fall and winter are cut short so everyone can worship Brett Favre at noon. When Wisconsin was labeled a "blue state" after the 2000 election, I was a little surprised. While the label matches Madison and many of the more urban areas in the state, the term "blue state" is far from encompassing all of Wisconsin.

In some respects, Wisconsin does deserve the title of blue state. The state is home to the progressive movement of "Fighting" Bob LaFollette, the first openly gay woman in Congress and the only senator to oppose the Patriot Act. Wisconsin is more well-known for the anti-war protests of the Vietnam War Era than being the state in which the GOP was founded in 1854.

Despite being "progressive" and "liberal," Wisconsin showed a red streak during the mid-term elections last month. Despite the efforts of groups such as Fair Wisconsin, 59 percent of Wisconsin voters passed the gay-marriage ban. While Dane County had 69 percent vote against the constitutional amendment, it was the only county in the state to do so. In the next county to the east, 67 percent of voters in Jefferson County voted for the ban. In addition, Dave Magnum actually barely edged out Tammy Baldwin in my county, which is not reflected in Rep. Baldwin's victory of 63 percent of the vote.

On the other hand, the red state of Arizona showed to be bluer than most other states. Arizona was the first state in the nation to reject the gay-marriage ban, ahead of blue states such as Wisconsin, Michigan and Oregon. Of course, in the same election, Arizonans also voted to make English the official language of the state. In 2004, Arizona passed Proposition 200, which is considered to be some of the toughest anti-immigration policy in the nation. Arizona may be the first in the nation have a gay-marriage bill fail, but it is far from being a blue state.

Since the election in 2000, there has been a divide in the country between the blue and red states. This divide has caused a rift in this country between those who support the current administration and those who are adamantly opposed to everything for which the administration stands. Politics have been a battleground; this divide has crippled any true progress in critical issues such as immigration, health care and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

This division may have partially healed in last month's election. States such as Indiana, the most conservative in the Midwest, elected a majority of Democrats to Congress this year. This is the same state that elected George W. Bush with 60 percent of the vote in 2004. The red state of Indiana did not seem to be so red this election.

Labels may be helpful at times to define who we are, but only to a certain point. Often, these labels do not accurately portray what they are intended to represent. While Wisconsin is a blue state, red Virginia's gay marriage ban passed by just two fewer percentage points. California, the bluest state in the nation, just re-elected a moderate Republican governor, who was seen a year ago to be unelectable. On the other hand, red Kansas, Oklahoma and Wyoming actually re-elected Democratic governors. When analyzing the blue and red labels, there is only partial truth to the stereotypes these labels attempt to portray.

As this country continues to redefine itself, the boundaries the red and blue labels portray are not only inaccurate but can paralyze the country. A drive just from here to Milwaukee can show the myth to this state being truly blue, just as election results can show that often a red state can be more progressive than one who claims to be just that. The most recent political red and blue stereotypes have been broken, and as our country goes forward from 2006, we need to tear down more political boundaries rather than erect new ones.

Jeff Carnes ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in linguistics.